


Step, Step, Step to the Top

by blade1802



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Fluff, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-02-26
Updated: 2017-03-26
Packaged: 2018-09-27 04:00:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 25,073
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9959345
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/blade1802/pseuds/blade1802
Summary: Oh Sehun being forced to see the Namsan Tower doesn't sit well with him being the third wheel. But when he meets Kim Jongin, a gift shop worker that also goes to his school, he finally finds it worthwhile to go visit it. How could Sehun have never noticed such a cute boy in his own school?





	1. Chapter 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My first chaptered SeKai! Originally on AFF as well, but updates will go to both concurrently.

The endless staircase began to hurt his feet.

Trailing behind the couple in front of him, he trudged up each step in agony, cursing himself for ever coming along. He was told that it was only one mile to walk in steps, but even so his mental state multiplied it by ten. "It'll be fun," they said. "You should get out of the house," they said. Sehun frowned immensely, finding all of those iterated words to be lies.

He didn't understand why his older brother and his girlfriend needed a third wheel to tag along, but here Sehun was, suffering all the while. In his opinion, he was fulfilling the role to his maximum potential, as he was stumbling in the back while Baekhyun and Taeyeon strolled ahead with their hands locked together. The more Sehun actually thought about it, it felt like they needed him to emphasize how much it sucked to be single. It seemed like a valid theory, he supposed, as the sole strength of his feet weren't enough to carry him to the top.

Namsan Tower loomed in the distance, and Sehun felt even more pitiful. This was mostly a tourist spot for couples, where they could get their own locks and look out the tower lovingly - Sehun was definitely an outcast in this spring weather. And so, he decided to take a break when the staircase reached a clearing, moving to a bench on the left.

He wasn't tired physically, but he was probably just tired because he felt that he should. Baekhyun and Taeyeon didn't even bother to look back for him and moved on in their little world, something that Sehun was oddly thankful for. He deeply inhaled and exhaled, his hands clutching onto the bench tightly. Once Sehun felt that he recovered some energy, he got up and continued to head for the summit. If he didn't even reach the top of the mountain, then he would be met with large amounts of teasing by his friend Chanyeol. "You're about as fit as a potato," he would say to Sehun, and Sehun would somehow nod his head in agreement.

So with this potato insult in mind, Sehun proceeded to climb up the remaining steps. His school backpack clunked against his back, but he decided to keep it attached and continue on. He needed it to do his work when he got to the top, he had reasoned, as the couple would probably spent an infinite amount of time being all lovey dovey at the tower. Besides, Sehun's original excuse that he had an exam Monday was actually true, but no, they just _had_ to go to the tower with him for "fun". He pouted at the sad situation he was in.

After about thirty steps passed under his feet, Sehun felt almost accomplished, as the summit was in clear view. Yet somehow on the thirty first step his right foot slipped out behind him, and he ended up tumbling backwards until a stranger’s hand caught him and broke his fall. "What the hell..." he gasped out, as the hand lightly pushed him forward, returning him back to a standing position.

Sehun turned around to look at his savior, and he was met with a shockingly attractive boy. "You should watch where you're going" the boy chuckled lightly. "It would be a shame if you had to go to the hospital right before you reached the top."

"Y-Yeah..." Sehun stuttered. "Umm, thank you for saving me," he politely added.

"No problem," the boy replied, gently patting Sehun's back. "Anyways, let's go finish the last few stairs," he gestured.

Sehun nodded and followed his commands, now trailing behind the attractive boy instead. He noticed that he also carried a backpack with him, making him wish that the boy was also there alone and under the same circumstances as he was. "Are you here by yourself?" Sehun finally decided to ask, directing the question to the boy's backside.

"Yeah, but I usually am anyways," he responded, leaving Sehun with more questions. However, he decided to wait to ask them once they were done walking.

When they reached the top of the stairs, the area opened up into a wide plaza, with the tower right over to the side. The cute boy paused and turned around, letting Sehun catch up to him. Sehun looked around with curiosity, taking in the air of the surroundings. As he scoped the area, he found that Baekhyun and Taeyeon were nowhere in sight, so he assumed that they were at the observation deck like they had planned.

"I should probably introduce myself. I'm Kim Jongin," the boy said when Sehun approached him.

"I'm Oh Sehun. Nice to meet you," he responded, holding out his hand to the other. He was unusually trembling a bit, but Sehun blamed it on his exhaustion - it wasn't like he was nervous to talk to this attractive boy.

Jongin scanned his face with an odd look, as if he was trying to decipher Sehun’s facial features. "You look familiar," Jongin said with realization. "Do you happen to go to Seoul High School, too?" he questioned.

"Yeah I do," Sehun answered, now wondering how he had never noticed this boy in his entire life at school.

"What year are you?"

"Second. And you?"

"Second. Have we just never been in the same room?" Jongin asked, his bright smile returning to his face. Sehun felt his heart race a bit but refused to acknowledge that it did, so he looked away from Jongin's face and answered to his shoes.

"I guess so," he nervously chuckled, his feet tapping with anxiety. Sehun was now internally hitting himself for this, finding it almost ridiculous how he had never stumbled upon this handsome student that was right in his school and his grade. Nevertheless, he put any other thoughts aside, remembering that most high school boys would never want to date boys - or him for that matter.

"So are you here alone, too?" Jongin asked as he remembered Sehun's initial question.

"No, but I'd rather be alone," Sehun giggled. "My brother and his girlfriend dragged me here, so they must be somewhere in the tower having fun already."

"You’ve been third wheeling huh? Aww, it'll be okay," he said with a threateningly bright smile, again patting Sehun's back out of comfort. "Well, I work at the souvenir shop over there in the tower, so you can come hang with me until whenever you have to go," he sweetly offered.

"Really?" Sehun questioned out of disbelief, secretly relieved that he suddenly had company with him.

"Yeah it's no problem. Besides, sometimes it's so empty that it gets boring," he reasoned. "Plus we're school friends now, too." Sehun smiled shyly and nodded in agreement, not knowing how else to respond to Jongin.

With that, there was an empty feeling of understanding, and the two set out for the tower in comfortable silence. Sehun was easily fascinated by everything around him and had no reason to talk - even the normal blue sky looked somehow bigger to him at this height. Jongin occasionally glanced at him to smile at his astounded face, but Sehun didn't notice at all. By the time they entered the tower and took the elevator up to the shop, Sehun was more content than annoyed now. Maybe he just hated feeling alone in general, he surmised.

"It's not a glamorous workplace, but it's cozy enough," Jongin had said with pride as they entered. There were rows of books, toys, and assorted mugs lining the aisles of the small gift shop, with the counter at the end of the space. As Sehun was hit with the cold air due to the glamorous invention of air conditioning, he then found reason to agree with Jongin's statement.

"Don't you have to walk up here every day, though?" asked Sehun, as it suddenly registered that Jongin obviously didn't live right on the mountain.

"I only work part-time on Fridays and Saturdays, so not every day is a walking day. But I do like to walk up and down these steps just for the exercise," Jongin said with his eyebrows raised. Sehun nodded again with a sense of understanding, although personally he would never appreciate all the walking this job required.

As they approached the back counter, Jongin called out to the current worker. "Get out Junmyeon, it's my turn to run this place," he said with a certain sense of confidence.

"You would think by now that you'd speak kindly to your elders," the man replied, happily smiling at the banter. "You have fun now, Jongin," he added, walking around the counter to leave the workplace.

"Honestly, he gets irritating sometimes," Jongin said as soon as Junmyeon left the room. "That's we could never work in the same place. If you were here when he worked in the restaurant with me, you would see that it was total hell."

"You're so quick to gossip," Sehun laughed sincerely, earning a playful jab from Jongin.

"I don't really mean it, though," Jongin said with clear honesty. "Most people are friends to me. That is, unless they are truly annoying."

"Agreed."

The next hour passed with the two of them behind the counter, talking to each other about their lives. Sehun had first started off with the topic of school, semi-gossiping and semi-ranting about all the hard work and unreasonable things that they had to do in high school. Jongin agreed that yes, it was really stressful for everyone, but he insisted that everyone needed to chill once and awhile.

"I can just sit here and do work sometimes because it's not that busy," Jongin had said to Sehun. "But it gets a bit tiring when I do the same work and studying every other hour. So then, I just start playing with whatever souvenirs are here," he confessed.

"Do you even get paid to do anything?" Sehun joked, finding it already natural to talk to Jongin like he did to Chanyeol. Jongin just furrowed his eyebrows and refused to answer back on the topic.

From there, the conversation somehow turned into video games and entertainment, to which both boys exchanged information with each other: what games they loved to play the most, what shows were the best to watch, and what singers and groups had the best songs at the moment. When Sehun had mentioned the dances that idol groups did, the two of them suddenly agreed that they both loved dancing in general, and Sehun felt that he was going to pass out at any moment.

"Dancing's really fun," Jongin had acknowledged to him. "But it's definitely more fun when you're not alone."

"I can totally relate to that," Sehun agreed.

"Yeah, my current girlfriend is actually a great dancer too, so it makes it a lot cooler since we're a team, you know?"

Sehun didn't even try to answer that statement, and instead looked down silently. At that moment, he tried to push away dating thoughts as far as he could into the back of his mind and smiled in disappointment.

 

~~~

 

Eventually, Baekhyun and his girlfriend ended up in the gift shop, but Sehun assumed that it was by chance and not because they were actually searching for him.

"Sehun? What have you been doing here?" he asked as they entered the shop, quickly confirming Sehun’s thoughts.

"Jongin here has been keeping me entertained while you guys were doing whatever," Sehun responded coolly. "Are we going soon?" he asked, although he partially had no desire to leave at all.

"Well, we were about to get souvenirs before we left, but they seem so expensive," Baekhyun said, winking at Sehun and Jongin.

"No, you are not doing this to my new friend," Sehun defended, to which Jongin beamed with satisfaction.

"Alright," Baekhyun sighed with a playful smile. "But we do have to get back home before dinner, so it'd be best if we left now."

"Fine fine fine," Sehun said, although it almost sounded like a whine.

"Don't worry Sehun. You can come back here once you get a girlfriend, so maybe in like twenty more years?" Baekhyun teased him, eliciting laughs from both Taeyeon and Jongin.

Sehun felt his face heat up with embarrassment, and he quickly turned away so that Jongin couldn't see him. "It's alright, Sehun," the boy said to him. "I'll see you Monday at school, hopefully," he tried to assure the other. The heat was only exacerbated, however, and Sehun managed to get out a small 'yes' before stumbling out from the counter. He didn't know what to feel at the moment, so he did his absolute best to feel nothing at all and leave it behind.

Out of courtesy, Sehun turned around to wave at Jongin before tagging along with Baekhyun and Taeyeon. Yet after only a few steps out of the exit, they were immediately interrupted by a noise in the store. "Hey Sehun!" Jongin's voice called out, and he ran out towards them with an item in his hand. "Take this souvenir - it's on the house. You're always welcome to come back and visit me anytime," he said with a charming smile, handing over a small fan to Sehun.

Gently, Sehun took it from Jongin's hands and returned the smile. "Thanks, Jongin," he responded gratefully, unfolding it to see that it was a plain blue fan with the word 'Namsan' printed across it. "I'm guessing this cost a fortune, though," Sehun joked.

"I won't say how much it is, but I can bet you it costs more than your breakfast, lunch and dinner," he replied sarcastically. "Anyways, go home and enjoy your dinner," Jongin said, adding another wave just for Sehun.

"Goodbye Jongin," Sehun said, and the three of them finally exited the tower back into the plaza. Sehun frowned that he had to go through more steps, but at least he was comforted by the thought that going down was easier than going up.

Again, he ended up trailing behind the couple like an outsider, though this time Sehun was okay with it. As he fanned himself with the souvenir, he felt somewhat pleased by the course of the day. Sehun couldn't help but blush at the thought of Jongin's face, and what a generally attractive guy he was to him. If only he was like Sehun, then it would be even better. But this was enough to make him feel happier, so Sehun settled with what he got.

The feeling of the stairs, at that point, was almost nonexistent to his legs. Sehun just kept on dropping down the steps without thinking about them, thoughts instead focused on the cute brown-haired boy he had just met.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sehun is bothered and Chanyeol doesn't help.

Sehun returned to school that Monday with the threat of the algebra exam on his mind. He had spent yesterday studying as best as he could, but it didn't seem to click the way he would have liked it to. But as he thought about it, he was just distracted since Saturday, concluding that his inability to pay attention was the fault of Kim Jongin. Sehun tried his best not to dwell on the thought of him too long, though, as he always got this way when he met an attractive boy. He only forced himself to acknowledge Jongin's straightness and moved on with life.

He ended up arriving to his classroom ten minutes earlier than he usually would have, somehow feeling more anxious than he had felt when he woke up. Nevertheless, Sehun was one to keep on increasing his anxiety, so he spent his remaining time nosed up in his book and notes. He hoped that a last minute miracle would transform him into a genius and make him able to toss out formulas like money; from experience, however, the studying right before a test never helped in the end. Yet Sehun was one to continue his stubborn habits until he got lucky, so today he tried it again.

When it was around the time that most students came to class, Sehun merely tuned out the noise and continued on. He never knew why being a high rank in his class was so important to him, but he wanted it for the feeling of achievement. By the end of next year, he would be finally up and out of this stressful school, hopefully in a good university.

As Sehun's eyes were trained on his textbook, a familiar boy stood in the doorway of his room, scanning his eyes across each desk. When Jongin showed up to school, he had the desire to search through the rooms to find the Sehun that he met earlier. After coming up empty on the first floor and the first few rooms of the second floor, Jongin almost thought that Sehun had lied to him until he found the right room. A happy smile spread across his face once his eyes locked onto the focused boy, and Jongin wove through the rows of desks to reach Sehun.

"Hey! I found you," Jongin said in accomplishment, making Sehun lift his head in surprise.

"Oh, you were looking for me?" Sehun asked, feeling nervous all of the sudden.

"You told me that you were in this school, so I had to come see if it was true. So what are you doing?"

"Trying not to die," Sehun responded without thinking, although he quickly berated himself for being so depressing. He was always fantastic at being smooth and charming when with boys, he acknowledged sarcastically.

Luckily, Jongin wasn't so shaken by the abrupt comment and responded to Sehun in such a friendly way, saying, "Oh yeah, the test. I mean I studied, but maybe not as intensely as you." He playfully ruffled Sehun's hair and leaned forward to place his two hands on the desk.

Sehun shook his head and brushed it back to normal with his hand. "Last quarter, I got ranked 50th out of the hundred students here," he complained. "Is it wrong to want to get something better? Plus, I have to take it first anyways,"

Jongin could only chuckle at the stressed Sehun, finding it hard himself to be so invested in a single exam. "All of that worrying is going to give you gray hair early, and not the pretty shade of gray. Just relax."

The boy only breathed in deeply and furrowed his eyebrows. "How can you be so calm about something like this?" he asked out of curiosity. "Are you ranked 99th or 100th?" he questioned in a joking manner, but Jongin only looked back with twinkling eyes.

"Last time I checked, I was 5th," he said with an aura of confidence.

Sehun's mouth was left open for a few silent seconds before he decided to reply back. "Wow, screw you," he said in a shocked voice, and he slapped Jongin square in the shoulder. Jongin only pretended to be hurt from the slap and laughed again at the entertainment that Sehun was providing for him.

"Well I have the test fifth period, so you can tell me all the details," Jongin smirked, to which Sehun only pouted with sadness. "I'm just joking, you know. I'm sure we'll all do fine." Sehun gave him an incredulous look, and Jongin immediately knew to switch his words. "Okay, I'm sure that you and I will do well. Happy?"

"I'm not happy, but I'll take your encouraging words," Sehun responded, quickly stealing a glance at his textbook.

"Are you always this tense?" Jongin complained, flipping Sehun's textbook shut.

"Only when school is involved."

"Ah, Sehun, you need to take more trips up the stairs to Namsan Tower. I'm sure all of that walking would make your mind more relaxed," Jongin advised. At the thought of having to deal with exhaustion and almost falling down again, Sehun just shivered at the other's suggestion. In fact, he was already prepping his next slap at Jongin until he was interrupted by someone approaching the two of them.

"Hey Chanyeol," Sehun greeted the incoming boy, receiving a tap on the shoulder as a sufficient response.

"Who's this, Sehun?" Chanyeol asked as he slid into his normal seat to the right of Sehun.

"This is Kim Jongin. And Jongin, this is Park Chanyeol."

"Nice to meet you," Jongin said kindly, and the two quickly shook hands out of politeness.

"He's a guy that I met Saturday," Sehun clarified to Chanyeol. "He works at the gift shop in Namsan Tower, so he was my entertainment when Baekhyun and his girlfriend were on a date."

"So you have to walk up that every time you go work?" Chanyeol blandly asked, and Sehun chuckled a bit. He found it amusing that Chanyeol was immediately in tune with his thoughts when he met Jongin.

"Yeah I do," Jongin laughed with happiness.

"Cool," he said back with indifference, and he rested his head on his palm out of boredom, instantly creating a weird air around the three of them. Jongin could only awkwardly chuckle again as he stood, not knowing what to say back to the short answer. Sehun turned to look at the glum Chanyeol and glared into his eyes with anger. He had no idea what had gotten into Chanyeol and made him rude this morning.

"Chanyeol would have come with me the other day, but he was complaining that he was too tired to go walk all of the stairs," Sehun explained, trying to elicit some sort of enthusiastic reaction from the other.

"Aww, that's too bad. We could have had a lot of fun together."

"Yeah..." Chanyeol trailed off, not even bothering to continue on. As they were left in deafening silence, Sehun just gave Jongin a puzzled look and tapped his feet nervously. He scrolled through possible conversation topics in his head so that he had something to say, but he came up dry, unless Jongin would have liked to hear his thoughts on the weather or something ridiculous like that.

"Umm," Sehun said emptily, looking at Chanyeol as inspiration for something to say.

Shockingly, Chanyeol beat Sehun and said something first, although it wasn't really a conversational topic for them to discuss. "Class is starting in five minutes," he abruptly said, aiming his words at Jongin. "You should probably get going so that you're not late," Chanyeol advised in the bitterest tone that Sehun had ever heard. Sehun was happy that someone broke the awkwardness, but this was not how he wanted it to be done.

"You're right," Jongin said with another odd smile. "I'll see you later, Sehun. Nice meeting you, Chanyeol," he added. Jongin readjusted his backpack with his two hands and turned his back towards Sehun and Chanyeol, nonchalantly exiting their classroom.

Sehun's smile faded as soon as Jongin was out of the room and not within hearing distance. "What was that for?" Sehun questioned out of confusion. "There's no need to instantly turn away people that you just met. Jongin didn't say a single mean thing to you anyways," he complained.

Chanyeol lifted his head back up to face Sehun now with a toothy smile, clearly revealing that he wasn't angry at all. "You know that I don't usually warm up to people that quickly." Sehun sighed at this; he somewhat knew that it was true whenever they had to interact with new people. "Also, I'm not a fan of overly good-looking guys. They intimidate me," Chanyeol said with a hint of spite.

"Wait, then what does that make me?" Sehun responded, taking some offense from the statement.

"No comment," he replied with a sly grin. And as their usual dynamic followed, Sehun shoved Chanyeol hard and muttered some sort of curse word that Chanyeol was unable to hear.

 

~~~

 

The exam was not in fact the hell that Sehun had predicted it to be, but he was still left unsatisfied after he finished the entire packet. It was one of those test days where he had finished ahead of most people, and although he had double and triple checked every problem, he felt that there was nothing left for him to do. With that uncomfortable feeling of uncertainty, Sehun decided to give up on checking and flipped his test over. He lowered his body to the desk and rested his head in his arms, angling his head to the right.

Sehun noticed that Chanyeol was also passed out from his test and lying down in his arms like Sehun, except that his head was downwards and snores were faintly heard from his mouth. Normally, Sehun would smack him until he woke, but instead he decided to take pity and let Chanyeol sleep until the test was over. There were times indeed where he could be nice, he said to himself.

Once everyone's exams were collected and Chanyeol was functional as an awake human being, Sehun sighed with relief. He was content to see the cold, silent atmosphere disappear, and the classmates were all chatting as usual until the second period teacher came in. 

"How was your nap?" Sehun directed at the boy beside him, who was still yawning with the post-feelings of sleep.

"Peaceful. I dreamt that we lived together."

"Is that a good thing?" he responded, waiting for some sort of extra statement to make the dream bad. Sure enough, Chanyeol did exactly what Sehun predicted.

"No. We couldn't pay the bills and you had to become a prostitute so that we could live."

Sehun rolled his eyes with irritation. "Too bad it was a dream," he said with definite sarcasm.

"Yeah, what a shame," Chanyeol said, stretching his arms outward as he yawned again.

The second period of history dragged on so long that Sehun was looking out the window for something amusing. As he stared past Chanyeol to his right, he could see the current physical education class playing a game of soccer in the grassy field. To his coincidental luck, Sehun was able to distinguish Jongin from the pack, and he felt warmth spread across his body. Despite not having a chance, Sehun admitted to himself that he was fascinated with Jongin, yet somehow he was oddly okay with that. The fact that it was impossible was bizarrely comforting to him.

"You can stop staring at me," Chanyeol suddenly said softly. "I know I look good today, but you're overdoing the attention, Sehun." 

"Shut up," Sehun harshly whispered, and Chanyeol's grin only spread wider. "I'm trying to see who's winning outside, so if you will, please move," he mumbled as a weak excuse, and Chanyeol surprisingly obeyed, leaning back in his chair. He shrugged his shoulders, not understanding Sehun's interest in other students playing soccer. It wasn’t like they were professionals or anything.

But as Sehun kept on watching, he realized how much he enjoyed watching his new friend play sports. He found it pleasant to let his eyes follow Jongin, as the boy flew all over the field with such intense speed. And when Jongin brushed his loose hair backwards to wipe his forehead, Sehun's heart almost skipped a beat. Even as a sweating mess, he somehow maintained his charming looks.

Yet Sehun’s obsession with the window must have been noticeable, as he was easily caught staring outside.

"Oh Sehun! Are you even paying attention?" the teacher's voice yelled out.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jongin takes Sehun to work again and it's not a date.

That week, Jongin's visits became a daily trend. He seemed to enjoy coming into Sehun’s class just for a few minutes to talk to the other, and the two usually would have an active exchange of details about almost anything, whether it be school or family or friends. A small smile of excitement would reach Jongin’s puppy-like face, and Sehun had to do everything in his power to refrain from collapsing on the spot. 

“Hey, if you don’t mind me asking, could you come with me to work after school today?” Jongin proposes towards the end of their daily conversation.

“Sure, but why?”

“My shift feels a bit lonely sometimes,” Jongin says with a grin. “Plus didn’t I tell you that you need to relieve some of that stress through walking?”

Sehun is internally bursting with joy, as Jongin makes their outing seem like such a _date._ Well, maybe it’s perhaps just a friendly invitation, but the connotations all scream _date_ to Sehun. His face feels momentarily warm before he realizes that he has to respond to the other’s offer, and Sehun scratches his right cheek with minor anxiety.

“I’m not busy with anything, so of course I can come,” he says as coolly as he can. “Just text me where to meet you after school.”

“That sounds cool, can I have your number then?” Jongin asks, and Sehun nods rapidly in agreement. He clumsily fumbles around his pants pockets, finally able to pull the phone out his tight pants. The phone, however, decides to bounce out of his hands and do a few somersaults across the ground before eventually coming to a stop at Jongin’s feet.

“Whoops,” Sehun says as he scratches the back of his head, and Jongin simply picks up the phone with a vibrant smile.

“It seems like you drop this a lot,” Jongin laughs, noticing the several small cracks across his screen.

“I don’t mean to, but the world just hates me sometimes,” Sehun jokes, and again he revels in the way it brings another laugh from the other.

The two then exchange numbers, promising to meet up outside after school ended. They bid their farewells, and Jongin heads for the door, making sure to stop in the hall and give Sehun another cute wave before he left definitively.

Chanyeol, realizing that Jongin had left, sets down the book he was pretending to read. “It’s about time he asked you out on a date,” he teases, gaining the unfavorable attention of a frustrated Sehun.

“Hey don’t call it that!” he argues. “And were you even reading that book?”

“No, I just don’t like being around when the two of you talk. I feel like I’m interrupting something so _intimate_ ,” Chanyeol shudders, causing Sehun to deliver a playful strike to his arm. “I’m really good at pretending to be a book-lover though, you have to admit.”

“I do have to say, I was about to comment on your sudden appreciation for politics and the justice system,” he laughs, reading the cover of Chanyeol’s textbook and shutting it with a quick push of the hand. Chanyeol looks up at Sehun from his seat and raises his eyebrow out of curiosity.

"He's straight isn't he? Or at least taken, I bet.”

“Smooth transition, Chanyeol.”

“I know it’s smooth, but what is the truth, Sehun? It looks like you’re eating him with your eyes when you look at him. You might as well ask him out on a date as well.”

Sehun could only look down in search of an answer, and Chanyeol takes that gesture as his confirmation. “That look must mean that I’m right then,” he laughs lightly. “So which is it? Straight, taken, or both?”

“Both,” the other sighs. “He mentioned having some sort of girlfriend, but it’s alright,” Sehun states nonchalantly, although the slight bitterness in his voice isn’t filtered out.

“Sure, it’s _alright,_ ” Chanyeol teases, but Sehun’s frown makes him stop from going further. He shoots the other a sympathetic glance and pats his head soothingly. “Hey, don’t worry Sehun. Just have fun with this kid and forget about having feelings. Another friend is always good to have.”

Sehun winces at the word ‘friend,’ thinking about how unbearable it would be to have two Chanyeols in his life.

 

~~~

 

He meets Jongin in front of the school, and a smile tugs at his lips once he realizes that the other is clad in round glasses. “My contacts are giving me such an irritable itch today,” Jongin explains once Sehun approaches, aware of the other’s confused expression.

“I almost couldn’t recognize you,” Sehun smiles with joy.

“That’s because I never have to wear these at school,” Jongin laughs. “Besides, I must look ugly in them right now.”

“I think they’re cute,” Sehun says like an automatic reflex, and he immediately turns to the side to bite his tongue. _Damn it, Sehun,_ he says to himself, hating whatever made his words tumble out like that. Even so, Jongin’s gentle laughter assures him that he shouldn’t regret his compliment.

It’s a half an hour later when Jongin and Sehun are trekking up the Namsan stairs. They walk side by side, and Jongin is courteous enough to grip Sehun’s arm when he senses that the other is getting increasingly weary. “You really should exercise more often because I can’t be your helper every time we’re just climbing stairs,” he jokes.

“You’re probably used to this workout because it’s your job,” Sehun breathes out, but a chuckle still manages to slip through.

“Of course I’m used to this by now. I have thighs of steel,” Jongin brags, and Sehun’s scoff is what makes another gorgeous laugh fall from his lips.

“Don’t be so overconfident,” Sehun complains, and he looks over the edge of the path into the sky. His eye falls upon one of the ascending red cars, and Sehun envies it, wishing he was one of the passengers inside. He turns back to Jongin and asks, “Jongin, don’t you ever take the cable car? I feel like it would be a lot less work so you wouldn’t be tired just getting to work.”

“I took it when I first got the job, but I guess I don’t really care about it now. When you walk, you get to experience natural air while getting the scenic view at the same time, you know.”

“You’re weird Jongin, but okay.”

“I could leave you right now,” Jongin teases, although his tightening grip on Sehun’s bicep tells the other that he wouldn’t dare to leave. Sehun just exhales and lets his friend guide him up the remaining flight of stairs.

Upon reaching the gift shop, Sehun watches Jongin strip out of his button-up shirt in order to reveal a light blue T-shirt with the word ‘STAFF’ printed on the back of it. Sehun silently laughs, seeing that it’s very Jongin-like for him to be so convenient with his clothing.

“Is there something funny about me stripping?” Jongin questions with a raised eyebrow.

“No, but I think it’s funny how prepared you are for work,” Sehun chuckles.

“It saves me time, you know.”

“Doesn’t make it any less entertaining.”

Jongin jabs Sehun in his side and shakes his head in disapproval. “Are you hungry or thirsty, Sehun?” he questions, shifting the topic away from his clothing habits. “There’s a coffee shop on the floor above us and I get a nice employee discount there.”

“Sounds cool. I’m pretty hungry myself,” Sehun agrees. “Do you want anything, Jongin?”

“No I’m fine, you don’t need to get me anything.”

“Alright,” the younger says, and he’s already heading to the exit in search of the shop.

“Wait wait!” Jongin calls out, bringing Sehun to a stop. “I’ll pay for you Sehunnie, since you’re my special guest today.” He digs out his wallet and ruffles through a few bills to hand over to Sehun.

“No, no, no, you don’t have to,” Sehun refuses, pushing the outstretched hand back towards its owner.

“But I _want to_ ,” the other persistently follows up.

“But you don’t _have to_ ,” Sehun fires back, making Jongin grunt in frustration.

“If you don’t let me pay, I’m never inviting you back here,” Jongin threatens, and Sehun can see the resolution in his countenance.

“Fine, fine,” Sehun gives in, accepting the money while feeling as if he had done something dirty.

“I don’t want to see you back here Sehun unless you have food or drink in your hands,” Jongin directs at his back, and Sehun can imagine the smugness on the other’s face. He finally gives an exasperated grunt before leaving the gift shop and heading for the elevator.

The coffee shop Jongin was speaking of was easy to locate, as it was quite a vast area pressed up against a wall of windows overlooking the mountain. As soon as Sehun removed himself from the elevator, he ducked into the shop and made his way to the counter, empty just like the rest of the stores.

The boy at the register looks up at his phone as Sehun approaches, clearly thrown off by having an actual customer on a weekday. “Oh I’m sorry,” he immediately apologizes, but Sehun waves it off.

“Slow day, I know,” he smiles.

“Yeah, it’s rare to see a soul in here around this time,” the boy agrees. “Anyways, what would you like?”

“Umm…can I have an iced Americano and a caramel latte?”

“Both of them for you?” the boy jokes, and Sehun shakes his hand in denial.

“I’m getting the latte for my friend in the gift shop,” he explains, and the cashier’s eyes light up in understanding.

“Oh, who is it? Is it Junmyeon or Jongin right now?”

“It’s Jongin,” he says with an awkward look.

“So are you using his employee discount then?”

“Oh…well he didn’t exactly give me instruction on how to use that…”

“Ah, it’s okay I’ll just trust that you know him,” the boy says with a smile, and relief overcomes Sehun. “But if you don’t mind my input, Jongin always orders a green tea Frappuccino.”

Realization hits Sehun, and he softly says, “Oh, then please cancel that caramel latte. I’ll take a green tea Frappuccino for him instead. Thanks for the advice.”

The boy beams at Sehun and says, “No problem.”

However, there is a slight problem in that Sehun really does not want to use the money that Jongin gave him, finding that he didn’t come all the way here just to have someone else pay for him. So instead, Sehun pulls out his own wallet and hands over the exacted amount to the cashier, pocketing Jongin’s money for now. In a few moments Sehun has two cups in his hands, and he bids goodbye to the kind cashier and heads back up to the gift shop.

“Green tea Frappuccino for Jongin!” he calls out as he enters.

“How did you know I like that? And more importantly, did you use my own money to buy this for me? I said to not get me anything,” Jongin says with fake anger, as Sehun can tell that he enjoys it when he puts the straw up to his lips and smiles.

“The cashier told me it was your favorite drink, so of course I had to get it for you.”

“Aww,” Jongin coos, and he gently bumps into Sehun’s side. “I guess I should be mad that you did that without telling me, but apology accepted.”

A bell chimes in the distance, and Sehun thinks that it’s his heart for a moment, but it’s really just the bell from the door to announce the entrance of a customer. Sehun glides away from the counter to the right, allowing Jongin to work with whatever the customer needs. And it’s in that moment that Sehun has a dirty plan that he needs to enact.

Being the little shit he is, he stoops over to the side where their belongings are and paws through Jongin’s open backpack, searching for a place to hide the money. Stopping at Jongin’s white button-up, he digs his fingers into the pockets to make sure that they’re empty. Knowing that the bills could be seen through the light fabric, Sehun does a small fist pump at finding a practical hiding spot. He turns back to make sure that Jongin is busy helping a customer, before transferring Jongin’s money from his pants pocket to the chest pocket of the button-up.

Once the customer has exited the shop, he innocently steps over to Jongin and drapes his arm over his shoulder (a bit bold for Sehun, but he was feeling confident for some reason). “Don’t you have some homework to do, Sehun?” he smiles, although he makes no move to shift out of the hold.

“No,” Sehun lies, repressing the fact that he came here knowing that he had a biology project due at the end of the week.

“Then do as you please.”

After a period of time, Sehun gets tired of standing around for so long, so he sits on the ground behind the counter and looks at Jongin as they speak in comfortable conversation. Sehun is expecting Jongin to mention his girlfriend again but he doesn’t, and he is both internally irritated and grateful for it. He was just happy with the current situation; he didn’t even want to think that someone was receiving more affection from Jongin than he was.

Sehun doesn’t remember what they’re talking about when his eyes get droopy, and he doesn’t remember when Jongin tucks his backpack behind his head. Nonetheless, he lets it all happen to him, allowing him to go to sleep with Jongin’s smiling face in his memory.  

 

~~~

 

“It’s time to leave, Sehun,” Jongin states, patting his cheeks with both of his hands. Sehun blinks slowly and raises himself off of the ground.

“How long was I asleep?” he whines with confusion.

“The entire past hour,” Jongin giggles. “It’s already six, and usually I’m out of here by that time. I just didn’t want to interrupt your peaceful rest - that is, until it was clear that you were never going to wake up unless I did so myself.”

“Sorry for keeping you late, Jongin,” Sehun apologizes.

“Don’t worry about it. Besides, you kept me company on a day that would usually be slow and boring. Anyways, we’re going to head out, Junmyeon,” Jongin says to his left.

“I guess Sleeping Beauty finally woke up,” Junmyeon laughs, and it was only in that moment that Sehun realizes that both Junmyeon and Jongin were watching him sleep on the bare floor.

“Bye Junmyeon. Have a nice shift,” Sehun says in an embarrassed voice, pushing himself off the ground. “I’m ready to go now,” he directs at Jongin, and the two embark on their journey home.

Jongin insists on taking the cable car for the trip down, but Sehun vehemently refuses, saying that the trip down was “in every way, better than the trip up.” Besides in his defense, Sehun enjoyed hearing the pitter-patter of their footsteps down the stairs, especially when he wasn’t huffing and puffing laborious breaths. Plus, Jongin’s fingers clasping around his forearm was an added bonus of the stairs - just a minor bonus, in his opinion.

The two boys approach the bus stop with the night chill breezing through their hair. Sehun sticks his hands in his front pockets to fend off the cold, but Jongin _has_ to insist that his coat pockets are warmer, and now he ends up having his hands shoved into the other’s pockets. It definitely doesn’t help that Jongin’s hands occasionally brush over his, the boy complaining that Sehun “must be naturally cold.”

Fortunately, Sehun’s cold, red cheeks are a perfect camouflage for his growing blush.

They untangle themselves from each other when they board the bus, but the close contact still maintains when they sit down. Jongin either is as cold as Sehun or just likes skinship, as he presses up against Sehun’s side until the other feels completely sandwiched between the window and Jongin’s warmth.

To Sehun’s dismay, Jongin’s stop comes before his. It wasn’t like the two were engrossed in talking, but Sehun takes pleasure in the tranquil silence. Naturally, when the pressure on Sehun’s side is relieved, he softly whines at a volume that no one can hear.

“I’ll see you tomorrow, Sehun,” Jongin states with a smile, and like that, he departs from the bus.

Sehun just cozies back up to the window, torn between intuition and reality. He decides in that moment that he hates guys in relationships, pouting out towards the world. Whatever, he’ll decide to do nothing and give himself up to fate.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sehun is a personal counselor.

He was just walking to the entrance of the school when Jongin tackled him from the side.

“What was that for?” Sehun complains, rubbing at his sore wounds.

“That was for yesterday,” Jongin says with a playful smirk, and Sehun suddenly is aware of the money he snuck back into the white button-up.

“What did I do yesterday? I don’t remember doing anything wrong,” he feigns ignorance. They’ve now continued walking towards the school doors, and Sehun hopes he can prolong this confrontation until he reaches the safety of his classroom.

Jongin arches his eyebrows and lets out a laugh. He brings his hand up to Sehun’s backpack strap and twists his fingers in it, making Sehun even more unsettled at the close contact. “I think you know what I’m talking about, Sehun. Don’t try to play dumb with me because I’m good at telling when people are lying.”

“I really don’t know what you’re talking about, though. All I did yesterday was eat and sleep in that shop,” he replies, trying to pick up the pace.

“See, I can tell that you’re lying right now.”

“Shut up,” he responds conclusively, trying to close himself off to further teasing.

As they wind up the flight of stairs, Sehun makes sure to dash a few steps ahead, all the more anxious to escape Jongin’s teasing. In despite of his attempts, Jongin is still dragging him down with his hand on his strap. “You’re awfully active this morning, Sehun,” he jokes with satisfaction. “Mind telling me the reason behind all the energy?”

“I’m energetic every day,” Sehun refutes, though Jongin still isn’t pleased with the vague response.

“Hey, just chill,” Jongin says at the top of the stairs, dragging him to the side to talk in peace. “I’m not mad at all.”

“You aren’t?”

“No. Actually I think that it was very nice of you to pay for me,” he says, a smile tugging at the corner of his lips.

Sehun blushes a little bit, seeing that he was caught. “Well, you don’t have to be so thankful. You were working hard yesterday, so it was just my instinct to be generous.”

“Sehun, I work in a gift shop on a mountain. Plus, yesterday was in the middle of the week, so there were maybe like ten customers there. Don’t act like I busted my ass working,” he remarks incredulously.

“Dealing with the public is a hard job, though,” the other acknowledges.

“Whatever you say,” Jongin laughs. “But you really don’t have to do that next time. I’ll be the one to pay for sure. Anyways it’s almost time to go, so you should probably get to class now. I’ll talk to you later.” Jongin waves goodbye to Sehun and walks in the opposite direction, just brushing against the other’s side.

Sehun begrudgingly pries himself away from looking back at the boy and heads into class. As he sits down in his seat, he’s greeted by another smiling Chanyeol, who’s sporting such an overbearing expression that it almost invites Sehun in to take the bait.

For some reason, he goes ahead and takes it.

“What do you want, Chanyeol,” he says in an exasperated breath.

“Nothing. I’m just sitting here and being happy,” he cheekily responds. “Where’s that daily Jongin dose before class? Were you two busy making out or something?” 

Sehun frowns at his friend, regretting even starting the conversation in the first place. “No, we were just talking outside of class,” he shoots back. “So lucky for you, you don’t have to pretend to be a smart student when you clearly never pick up a book.” There’s a hint of sullen attitude in his remark, but Chanyeol is aware that Sehun gets especially bratty when he’s flustered.

“Alright, Sehun. No need to be so verbally abusive, today,” he shrugs, and Sehun makes it a point to shove Chanyeol’s face away with the palm of his hand.

 

~~~

 

When Sehun receives another invitation to Namsan Tower via text, he has to suppress his excitement so that Chanyeol doesn’t judge him. “It’s just something funny I saw on Instagram,” he makes up as an excuse, and he goes to reply to Jongin that he will definitely be available for sure. There’s no thought given to his homework load, his family’s meal waiting at home, or his judgmental older brother. Sehun automatically accepts the invitation and goes along with whatever Jongin asks for.

This time, when they scale the mountain, Sehun is feeling in better shape as their altitude increases. The thinner, icy air is better welcomed into his lungs, and Sehun might have even bragged to Jongin a few times that he’s gotten more athletic already.

“You can’t possibly be an athlete after climbing these steps twice,” Jongin had said in disbelief, to which Sehun only rolled his eyes at the other. Jongin’s hand slid back up to grasp his arm, probably just to insist that Sehun should not have been getting so overconfident so soon.

The physical contact, to Sehun’s luck, was therefore maintained on this trip. He reveled in the feeling of the other’s touch, as their closeness made it feel like they were a couple on a sightseeing trip. Jongin’s hand even ventured downwards to clasp Sehun’s at one point, as he muttered something about Sehun being “too frail and cold.” Needless to say, he did not bother letting go until the two reached the top.

After Jongin and Sehun enter the gift shop and set their belongings down, Jongin perks up and pulls out his wallet. He pulls it open, finding a select number of bills to extract and closes the wallet back up. He aims a knowing grin at the other, and Sehun returns it with a judgmental stare, aware of what crap is going to spill out of the other’s mouth.

“I’ll head up to grab drinks this time. What would you like?” Jongin says with determination, as if nothing Sehun says can deter him.

The other boy exhales deeply, having the intuition that this was the reason for his second invitation. “Just get me anything,” he says calmly, somehow finding the other to be cute with his resolve.

“You got it, Sehun. I’ll be back in like five minutes.”

Sehun nods blankly and feels grateful for the other’s kindness. If Jongin was Chanyeol, then Sehun wouldn’t have gotten paid back until a month later. It was no offense to Chanyeol, but the nature of this occurrence wasn’t that major. All he did was pay extra for a two-dollar cup; it wasn’t as if he had bailed Jongin out of prison or anything. Even so, the fact that Jongin was paying him back was endearing, so he takes that to heart and smiles.

That is, until he realizes a minor problem. He yells, “But wait, Jongin! What if someone shows up while you’re gone? What am I going to do while I wait for you to come back?” The question hangs emptily in the air, as Jongin is already out the door before he before he can even hear it.

Sehun groans, although he’s sure that no one will come within the five-minute time span. On a Thursday like this, no one might even show up until a half an hour into the shift. The only people that would have reason to show up would be foreign tourists or vacationers, and judging by the number of people they saw on the hike up, there were few amounts of both groups.

He had pushed his luck on that day, however, as the bell resonates in the room and pulls him out of his idleness. A fair brown-haired girl approaches the counter, and Sehun politely says, “How can I help you?” He’s already dying from having this foreign social interaction, but he perseveres in the name of Kim Jongin.

“I’m actually not here to buy something,” the girl responds.

_Oh thank God,_ he thinks to himself. “What do you need then?” he asks.

“I’m looking for an employee whose name is Kim Jongin. Do you know where he is?”

“Oh he’ll be back down in a few minutes if you don’t mind waiting. He’s just getting some coffee,” he explains.

The girl nods courteously and says a small ‘Thank you,’ but the ensuing silence is just deadly. Neither of them talk, though Sehun occasionally glances her over and tries to guess her affiliation to Jongin. _Sister? Cousin? Friend? Girlfriend?_ He pauses on the last title and grimaces, pushing it out of his mind. He told himself that he had no reason to be possessive or jealous and that was it. There was no point in indulging in his despair, Sehun believed.

To his content, those few eternal minutes finally subsided with the entrance of Jongin and two drinks. “Sehun, I got two of these green tea Frappuccinos for us! I’m not sure if you like it, but I do so you have to try it!” he exclaimed.

“Hey, Jongin,” the girl states, announcing her presence. She gravitates towards Jongin like a horny magnet and plants a kiss on his cheek, making Sehun silently retch up his upset thoughts. So it was the dreaded girlfriend after all, he figured.

“Oh hey,” Jongin breathes out softly, and it’s so affectionate and deliberate that Sehun decides to face the wall instead.

“Can we talk outside?” the girl suggests, and the tone is so distant that even Sehun understands the bad nature beneath her proposition.

“Of course. Is there a problem?” Jongin asks, although there is no answer to his inquiry. Only the noise of the bell and the door opening is present, and Sehun turns back around to no one. He sighs in worry for Jongin, despite it not being his personal business.

 

~~~

 

Sehun finds it ironic in that no customers show up within the half-hour time period that the couple is gone. He pats the counter in boredom, even pulling out homework to busy himself while he waits. Maybe he should get paid a chunk for this job, he wryly jokes to himself.

His trail of self-comfort thoughts then come to a halt when the bell rings again. Only Jongin enters, and his dismal expression rings an alarm within Sehun. He hastily unbuttons his shirt to reveal his normal staff shirt and stands behind the counter, barely acknowledging the other’s presence. Sehun is understanding nonetheless, and makes no attempt to pry at what had happened.

Jongin is silent next to him for the rest of his shift. Even when Junmyeon arrives to relieve him of his work (he kindly pets Sehun’s hair as a greeting), there is no relief in his voice when he announces that they get to go home. Both Sehun and Junmyeon look at the boy with sympathetic glances, but because they don’t know the reason behind his sadness, all they can do is look on and keep to themselves.

As they exit the building, it occurs to Sehun that night has fallen faster than usual. The only guidance they have is the dim lights around the plaza, but even so, Sehun is slowly feeling around the ground with his feet. He doesn’t want to possibly trip over any cracks or crevices, so he lingers in the back slowly, allowing Jongin to walk ahead of him in peace. In his mind, Jongin needs some alone time anyways.

It’s when Sehun’s vision is too engrossed in the ground that he finds himself softly bumping into a human pillar on the first step down. “You don’t have to be so worried about falling, Sehun,” Jongin says with comfort in his voice. Sehun doesn’t look up, but he can just sense by the atmosphere that there’s a pseudo-smile plastered on the other’s face.

“It’s okay, Jongin. Just go on without me. I’m not sure if I can see well in this darkness anyways, so I’ll probably slow you down,” Sehun tries to say as courteously as he can.

“You’re being ridiculous,” the other responds, and soon there’s a hand laced with Sehun’s. “We came here together, so we should go back together.”

Sehun nods sheepishly, and replies, “You’re probably right. Thanks.”

As they trek down the stairs, Sehun doesn’t miss the way that Jongin pulls their hands closer to his side, and he definitely doesn’t fail to notice Jongin’s other hand occasionally rubbing his for warmth. Yet it leaves a more vacant feeling in his heart when it happens, in comparison to any other scenario where the affection would fill it. Sehun knows his boundaries, though, and he is polite enough to not cross them.

“Thanks for staying with me yet again,” Jongin says as they wait at the bus stop.

“You don’t have to thank me. Besides, I don’t think it’d be nice to leave you in the empty shop all day.”

“I don’t being lonely,” he murmurs quietly. “Because if it’s a burden and you have other things to do, then by all means, leave me.”

Sehun squeezes his hand out of sympathy. “I’m sure I’m having a better time staying in this natural air than staying at home and watching movies that I’ve already seen. I’m like a potato,” he says, twistedly using Baekhyun’s insult as a self-deprecating joke. Jongin laughs but doesn’t bother to fill in the void of conversation, leaving Sehun to wonder by himself if the potato joke was a miss.

When the two boys board the bus, their interlocked hand remain intact. The grip occasionally tightens and releases, but Sehun doesn’t mind and lets his hand act as a stress ball. After an entire trip down a mountain, Sehun was smart enough to fill in the blank space and understand what had just occurred. He even lets Jongin take the window seat in order to let him stare out the window and be sentimental and shit.

“She dumped me,” Jongin says midway through the bus ride. He presses his head into Sehun’s shoulder and makes a melancholy sigh.

“It’s okay. There’ll be someone else for you,” he says in order to comfort him.

“I know, but it’s not the fact that she dumped me that makes me upset.”

“Then what is it?”

“It’s the fact that I was _dumped_ ,” Jongin emphasizes, and Sehun’s face scrunches in slight confusion.

“I’m not sure if I get the difference between the two.”

“I’m just tired, Sehunnie. I don’t even think I’ve ever had a long, stable relationship. It just kind of sucks, you know?”

“I feel you,” Sehun says, although he honestly doesn’t. The boy had never even been in a relationship to be able to understand its problems, so he was better off as a counseling center than a friend to _empathize_ with. Nevertheless, he wasn’t going to be self-centered and drop that fact, so he decided instead on patting Jongin’s head soothingly.

“But you don’t care about dating, do you?” Jongin asks, and Sehun shakes his head no. Yet again, the answer is just another construed lie of his. _Hell yeah I care about dating,_ he says in his head, not daring to admit it aloud.

“We’re just in high school, Jongin. I don’t think dating is that important,” Sehun says aloud, grateful that Jongin is unable to see his pained smile.

“Yeah, you seem the type to think that way.”


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sehun and Jongin have a totally hetero-sleepover

It’s the following day that Sehun and Jongin end up sprawled across the carpet, aimlessly lounging around in Sehun’s room. Jongin’s current work schedule fortunately does not include Fridays, so the two (Sehun more than Jongin) thankfully bask in their inactivity after school. Sehun is sitting upright against the wall with his legs crossed, hands gently massaging his worn out feet. He promises to himself to save up for better shoes for the stairs, as his current worn-out sneakers aren’t up to standards.

Jongin, on the other hand, is dancing around for Sehun in the open space. He claims that it’s for a very special performance he’s doing with his friends, and Sehun will “absolutely be invited” when the time comes. The other applauds from his position on the ground as Jongin dances with precision, and he feels himself descending deeper into love (or is it hell).

“We should probably get some work done,” Sehun suggests once the entertainment show is over.

“Why Sehunnnn,” Jongin whines. “That’s what Saturday and Sunday night is for. It’s Friday today, so we should like watch movies or play video games. I’m not in the mood for school,” he scoffs.

“Fine, fine, fine,” Sehun gives in. “What would you like to watch?”

“A drama please. I’m feeling in that sort of mood.”

“Whatever you want,” Sehun voices, and he willingly gives Jongin his way because it was only yesterday that his girlfriend dumped him and Sehun wasn’t a heartless guy. He wasn’t sure about anything else, however, as it wasn’t like Chanyeol had relationship problems to deal with, either. Perhaps he was supposed to buy Jongin ice cream and stroke his hair calmly while he reminisced on the good times with his girlfriend? Was that how it worked?

“It’s starting,” Jongin announces with joy, and Sehun scoots over to the base of his bed to see that Jongin had pulled up “The Heirs,” grimacing at the option. “It’s old, I know, but it’s always a classic in my heart,” he defends as it starts.

 Sehun, being the good friend he was, sets aside his judging stares and replaces them with smiles, deciding to just enjoy his time with Jongin. And even when he’s cringing profusely at certain spots of the drama, he swallows the cringe whole and bites his tongue to prevent any witty comments from escaping. “I think it’s a really cute story,” he comments at one point to appease Jongin, who was so engrossed in the current episode that he was mouthing lines.

“I’m glad you’re enjoying it Sehunnie. The amount of times I’ve seen this series is unhealthy,” he states, and Sehun responds with a quiet “I bet.”

By the time they’re reaching the ending of the drama and Kim Tan is smooching Cha Eun Sang (“I just knew this was meant to be,” says Jongin), Sehun is ready to curl into a ball and pass out. It wasn’t just because of the physical exhaustion – he was just about finished with the lovey-dovey affection and angst and everything that they watched offered.

He looks at the clock to see that it’s 2 am already and sighs, moving towards his laptop to close it shut. “It’s time to sleep, Jongin,” he yawns sleepily. “I’ll sleep on the ground and you can sleep on my bed,” he offers kindly.

“Are you sure, Sehun? Would you be comfortable down there?”

“No, but there’s no way we can fit on my bed,” Sehun replies, and he realizes that he’s slightly blushing as he says it.

“Suit yourself, Sehun. But there’s always room up here with me,” he responds with a smirk.

Sehun throws a pillow at Jongin’s face, saying, “Just quit it and help me grab the blankets and pillows.”

The two open up the hallway closet and quietly remove all of the spare items they need to set up Sehun’s floor bed, not daring to make a sound. As they return to the room, Jongin missteps on the blanket that Sehun’s carrying and slips forward, hitting the ground with a sharp hiss. Sehun tries to cover his mouth in order to stifle his laughter but it doesn’t work, as a few guffaws escape audibly.

“Be more careful,” he giggles out as they close the door behind them.

“How can I be careful in the darkness?” Jongin argues, rubbing his knee with a pained face.

“You’re just too clumsy, I guess,” Sehun replies, knowing that Jongin is shooting him a look of discontent in response.

By the time Sehun finally gets everything laid out on the floor (Jongin was too busy nursing his wounds to help), another half-hour passes and it’s now 2:30. He sighs at the time but excuses it since it’s Friday, falling down to press his face into his pillow. Jongin does the same on his bed and exhales a loud yawn, pulling his blanket over himself. Sehun expects that they’ll both directly go to sleep without a word until Jongin cuts the air with a question.

“Be honest with me, Sehun. Have you ever dated a girl?” Jongin asks vaguely, and it’s as if Sehun can watch the question disappear into the darkness in a black cloud.

“No,” he replies quietly, a clear rasp in his voice. “We go to an all-boys school anyways, Jongin. Who has time to deal with girls,” he elaborates, half-trying to make an excuse and half-trying to give a hint to the other.

“I had time,” Jongin says nonchalantly.

“I know you did,” Sehun breathes out, making a small frown amidst the darkness. “If it bothers you that much, you can tell me anything,” he offers, but it’s an empty gesture. The last thing Sehun the Guidance Counselor needed was to be giving Jongin advice on his relationship, all the while Sehun himself was wanting the other.

“It’s okay, Sehun. I can handle myself, but thanks for the offer. I shouldn’t even be so upset because it was like less than a month,” he responds with a soft whimper. Upset at the other’s distressed state, Sehun tosses in his spot in frustration.

He silently wonders what it would be like to date Jongin, to hold hands with him and go on dates in a non-platonic way. Maybe when they scaled Mt. Namsan they would be closer than normal, and maybe Jongin would hold his hand tightly because he was entitled to – not because he was simply sad and needed comfort. Sehun wanders in his palace of thoughts and softly smiles at its pleasant serenity. He also wonders what it would be like to kiss Jongin; it didn’t have to be the lips, but it could be the cheek, or the neck, or the forehead. Sehun just wonders what the experience would be like.

Nonetheless, it doesn’t take long for his palace to crumble back into reality. Jongin takes into account the wordless atmosphere and speaks up again. “Have you ever thought about guys, Sehun?” he asks, and it’s in such a deliberate way that Sehun’s stomach is starting to do somersaults and flips inside of him. He bet that it could even score a gold medal in the next summer Olympics if it practiced just enough.

“No I haven’t,” he denies inconspicuously. “Why would you ask?”

“I don’t know. It’s late in the night and I must be rambling,” Jongin says. _Sure you are_ , Sehun thinks, but he does nothing to voice his opinion. “It would be weird though, don’t you think?” Jongin continues, and it feels as if a thicker arrow has pierced his heart.

“I guess so,” Sehun murmurs quietly, purposefully following it with a yawn to find an exit to the conversation. To his favor, Jongin halts his interrogation and settles for sleep, allowing both of them to lay in the tranquil obscurity with their thoughts to themselves.

Jongin is the first to fall asleep, as Sehun observes in his steadying breath. He looks up at the boy to see that he is turned towards the wall and sighs, trying to cope with the fact that they might be friends forever. He wishes that he could converse with this Jongin – this unconscious Jongin – and tell him of all of his feelings, as all Sehun can do at the moment is swallow his words and repress his emotions. He uncomfortably shifts away, placing his gaze on the opposite wall.

It doesn’t take long for Sehun to venture to his dream land as well.

 

~~~

 

It’s that night that Sehun also comes to another realization, and it’s that Jongin is an incredibly _clingy_ person. He’s awoken in the middle of the night by the noise of a tumbling body, and when he opens his eyes, he’s greeted by a sleepy Jongin. His arms and legs are sprawled out in all random directions, but he continues in his rest and even dares to wrap his leg over Sehun.

Sehun is frozen in terror and quietly untangles himself from the other’s hold. With a reluctant grunt, he raises himself to his knees and looks down at the resting boy. It’s adorable to him, but a glance at the clock tells him that it is 5 am, making him immediately frown. With a sigh, Sehun bends down to pick up Jongin in his arms and hoists him back onto the bed, not forgetting to drape him back in his blanket.

The only other problem with this is that Jongin’s hand refuses to let go of his arm, forcing Sehun to sit in place in front of the bed. _What is wrong with this kid,_ Sehun wonders, and he turns back to grab his own pillow off the ground. Gratefully, Jongin receives the pillow as a cuddle toy in exchange for his arm, and Sehun is back to his floor bed free of Jongin. There are not any pillows remaining for him now, but he doesn’t care anymore. Not when Jongin’s touch is burning a hole into an arm and giving him warm thoughts.

 

~~~

 

When Sehun awakes the next morning, he is still on the ground, but he’s now sharing with Jongin yet again. The intruder is face-to-face with him and fast asleep, his chest rising and falling with his breaths. Although Sehun is ready to pick up Jongin and toss him back onto the bed, he stops in the moment and allows it to pass. The sunlight is already pouring through his window, signifying that there would be no point in waking the other, he supposes.

Needless to say, Sehun doesn’t move either, choosing to stay in his position and fix his gaze on the other. Jongin’s features look so soft as he’s asleep, and Sehun finds it especially cute when he scrunches his nose or grumbles at inopportune times. He’s now grateful for the vision the daylight provides and hums, wishing that all of his mornings would be as pleasant as this one.


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chanyeol and Jongin's goal is to apparently make Sehun miserable.

As time passes on, Sehun becomes increasingly weaker and weaker on the inside. The whole girlfriend issue between him and Jongin is never brought up again (Sehun never even learned the brunette’s name), but it seems as if Jongin gets bolder with his touching by the day. Even this morning on Sehun’s walk into school, he’s almost shocked to death when two arms wind around his stomach from the back, safely securing him to the person behind.

“What is with you?” Sehun asks incredulously, not even bothering to look back. He brings his own hands up to rub at the grip on his stomach.

“Can’t I just be happy to see my Sehunnie?” Jongin asks into his shoulder, and the other groans at the cheesiness.

“I’m so glad you aren’t in my class. Otherwise, you’d be the worst distraction ever,” Sehun says with a dignified huff, although it’s clear by his smile that he wants the opposite.

“Shut up. Of course you’d want me in your class, Sehun. I make everything fun,” Jongin replies, his growing smile felt by the other.

Sehun huffs, “Get off of me, you overconfident shit,” before elbowing Jongin’s left side. Unwillingly, he releases his hold on Sehun and moves to face him directly.

“Why are you so shocked to see me?” Jongin asks, as he inspects Sehun’s confused expression with a close eye. The boy’s eyes had gone wide with surprise when he saw Jongin, and he had found it to be kind of cute, as if he was caught on a hidden camera or given a little scare.

“Nothing,” Sehun says, and he turns away to walk towards the school, knowing that Jongin will automatically follow in suit.

His surprised reaction was simply because Jongin looked stunning today, of course. On most days, he would keep his hair down in an adorable mess of strands, but for once he decided to switch it up. His hair was neatly gelled over the side and parted delicately on the right side, and all Sehun wanted to do was run his fingers through it in admiration.

It was just another reason to him that Jongin was a legitimate crush, because in addition to his kindness and touchiness, he was a visual epidemic. Not an epidemic in the sense that everyone was sick and suffering, but epidemic as in an infection to everyone’s eyes that would make them fall for him. That kind of epidemic. It was therefore to Sehun’s favor that they were no girls in their school, so his minor possessiveness wouldn’t have had to act up as much.

“Hey, would you slow down a bit?” Jongin requests as he jogs up to slide his hand into Sehun’s. Sehun tenses up at the sudden grasp of his hand but relaxes, finding solace in the small action. It’s oddly natural for them to do random displays of affection like this, and Sehun tells himself that he needs to accept it all in a platonic context. Sometimes he even mentally recites “Jongin likes girls. Jongin is straight,” to himself in order to ease the emotional pain of these touches.

 

~~~

 

Sehun and Chanyeol tend to spend their daily lunch in the same spot outside of the school, legs crossed on the concrete steps and backs against the brick wall. Usually they would just talk nonsense or gossip about any drama they had heard recently, but today Sehun’s eyes are no longer concentrated on Chanyeol’s. Instead, he looks outwards into the field of trimmed grass and spots Jongin walking across casually, the sunlight naturally emphasizing his appearance as he moves.

“Hey Sehun, did you even get what I was just saying?” Chanyeol cuts in, poking Sehun’s forehead with his finger.

“Yeah I was listening,” he insists.

“Then who were the two guys that I was just talking about. The ones that were caught doing you-know-what in the locker room?”

“Fine, I wasn’t listening, okay?” Sehun admits honestly.

“Is it cause of that Jongin kid over there? You know you don’t have to act like you’re not totally obsessed with him around me, right?”

“I am _not_ obsessed,” he denies vehemently.

“Ever since you’ve met him, your eyes have been following him every second. I’ll be honest, I’m quite surprised that you haven’t even tried to tell him to join us at lunch,” Chanyeol continues, taking a sip of his oversized water bottle that Sehun constantly ridicules him for. “Even though I carry this large-ass water bottle around every day, I think you’re the thirstier one out of us,” he adds with an obnoxious laugh.

Sehun is a fool, but not so much a fool to easily take the bait that is thrown at him. He ignores Chanyeol’s last comment and responds to the first one, saying, “Jongin has friends to sit with at lunch, so I don’t want to be rude and take him away from them,” he says between tightened lips.

“The past week Jongin has been sitting under that same tree by himself,” Chanyeol refutes. “And I know that you know that because you are like his helicopter mother that monitors his every step. Just grow some balls and ask him to come over here. It’s not like you two are strangers.” He looks at the other for any hint of provocation, but Sehun is still and unwilling to budge the slightest.

“Fine, leave it to Chanyeol to play cupid today,” Chanyeol mutters to no one in particular, his resolve now logically formed. He takes another large gulp of water before setting it aside, wiping his hands free of any residue. “Hey Jongin!” he then yells out with his hand cupped over his mouth. “Come over here for just a minute.”

The boy looks quite confused by the sudden call, but as his eyes fix upon Sehun’s, he brightens up slightly and giddily dashes across the field. Sehun stiffens up in his spot but refuses to show that he’s nervous, deciding to instead close his eyes and tune in to the grass crunching beneath Jongin’s feet. Yes, the sound of demolished grass will keep his composure.

Sehun opens his eyes up as the crunches dwindle away. “Did you need something, Chanyeol?” Jongin says in front of him, despite seeming to direct the question at Sehun instead of the other.

“No, I just wanted you to tell you something that Sehun said,” Chanyeol replies, and Sehun slightly jolts up in his seat. He knew that when Chanyeol acted this pretentious, there was no telling what could fly from his mouth.

“Why can’t Sehun tell me himself?” Jongin smirks with a glint in his eye. Sehun, looking scandalized, peers at Chanyeol with an incinerating glare. He makes it a point to remind himself to never put Jongin and Chanyeol in the same room as him.

“I don’t even know what he’s talking about,” Sehun interrupts in his own defense. He was expecting Chanyeol to simply invite Jongin to sit with them at lunch to tease Sehun. However, seeing that Chanyeol had diverted into a different trail of conversation, he was beginning to feel anxious at what was coming next.

“We were just talking about you earlier this morning, and Sehun was telling me all about how he really likes your hair like that. He _really really_ likes it,” Chanyeol emphasizes, causing Sehun to immediately shove him to the side. So that was what he was getting at, Sehun figures, now regretting telling him anything about Jongin at all.

“He’s exaggerating that,” he tries to explain, but it doesn’t prevent Chanyeol’s outburst of laughter or Jongin’s need to join in with a few chuckles.

“If anything, I’m understating it,” he laughs out in response. “I’m pretty sure Sehun even said it was _really really_ cute when we were talking, too.”

“Stop it, Chanyeol. I do _not_ say ‘really’ that often,” Sehun whines out, and he places his head in his hands as a forlorn gesture. As much as he wants to punch Chanyeol at the moment, the redness is disseminating across his cheeks and he feels as if the world is even laughing at him. “You’re too embarrassing sometimes, you know? Please excuse his behavior,” he directs at Jongin in shame.

“I don’t mind,” Jongin chuckles in response to the entertaining situation. “But you do like my hair like this right?” he follows up, and Sehun can tell by the way Jongin’s gaze pierces into him that he is in need of encouragement.

“Of course I do,” Sehun says almost too eagerly, making Chanyeol sit back up to focus on the conversation.

“That’s good then. Maybe I should do this more often, then. It only takes like a few minutes in the morning.” The smile that then accompanies his suggestion is so sincere and vibrant that Sehun digs his back further into the wall, as if he would eventually disappear by backing up just enough.

“Sehun would totally enjoy that,” Chanyeol answers on his behalf, earning another crude glare by the other. “Anyways, that really wasn’t why I called you over,” Chanyeol says, shifting the flow of conversation away from Jongin’s hair. “We just wanted to ask if you would like to sit with us because you look so lonely over there.”

“Really? I mean I don’t mind being alone,” Jongin replies, and Sehun feels like it’s a rejection until he follows up. “But why not? My friends have ditched me because they’re failing economics, so I wouldn’t mind the company.”

“That’s great then! The more, the merrier,” Chanyeol cheers, and it’s his knowing smile that gets to Sehun.

“You know, don’t feel pressured into sitting here just because Chanyeol asked,” Sehun speaks up, finding the new situation to potentially be a dangerous one.

“Why? Do you not want me to sit with you, Sehunnie?” Jongin says with a raised eyebrow, and as soon as he pulls out the ‘Sehunnie,’ he knows it’s game over. Jongin is witty like that sometimes, knowing that being even slightly cute will give him an advantage over anyone – especially Sehun.

Sehun’s lips flatten out in discomfort, and he responds, “I’m not concerned about you being here, Jongin. I’m concerned about you and Chanyeol simultaneously being here together.”

“Then we have all the more reason to have you stay with us,” Chanyeol pipes up with determination in his voice. Sehun bites his tongue in frustration, seeing these two people suddenly bond over making him uncomfortable. What else would he expect.

“Alright, it’s settled then. I’ll be officially joining the Sehun and Chanyeol lunch club,” Jongin says with a succession of excited claps. He looks at Sehun with a smirk and sits down, scooting specifically towards Sehun to sandwich him against Chanyeol. “Get comfortable my Sehunnie,” he coos, patting his head with affection. Chanyeol decides to also join in, bringing up his hand to pinch Sehun’s right cheek.

“By the way, Jongin. How did you already know my name when you came over here?” Chanyeol later asks out of curiosity. “We’ve never talked before in person.”

“Sehun talks all the time about you, you know. There’s always something to complain about you,” Jongin admits with a smile, particularly pointing it at Sehun.

“That makes sense,” Chanyeol nods. “Actually, he does the same with you.”

“Really? What does he say about me?” Jongin asks, and it’s suddenly it feels as if Sehun is invisible and totally not in the middle of them at all. He decides to keep his mouth, however, as instigating anything on his part will most likely backfire on him.

“Oh, he just talks a lot about you. But I don’t think it’s really ranting, though,” Chanyeol comments with a certain slyness.

And that is how Sehun ends up spending the entire lunch period actively steering conversation away from that dreaded topic.

 

~~~

 

“I like Chanyeol. He’s really nice and funny,” Jongin randomly says as they’re standing in line at the café, waiting to order from the usual barista. This time, they had decided to wait for the end of Jongin’s shift to head up the elevator for their drinks, and Junmyeon even had the audacity to ask them to bring him something as well.

“Why would you even say that?” Sehun asks in confusion. “He’s a total pain in the ass.”

“I just think it’s great to know that there’s someone else that will keep my Sehunnie in line,” he remarks with a chuckle. Sehun finds the whole “my Sehunnie” to be pushing it, but he does his best as always to pretend he didn’t hear it.

When it’s their turn to order, the barista greets both of them with a bright expression. “Hey Minseok,” Jongin greets kindly. “Can I have the usual?” he asks, to which Minseok instantly understands and rings up the purchase. “What do you want, Sehun? It’s on me today.”

“I’ll have the same as Jongin,” he says politely, and it brings a soft smile to the other’s face.

“How sweet,” Jongin comments as he playfully nudges the other.

“Don’t look at me like that,” Sehun bashfully utters. “And don’t forget to order for Junmyeon hyung,” he adds as a distraction.

“You know what Junmyeon likes. Plain old black coffee, with absolutely no cream or sugar,” he directs at Minseok, who receives the order with a knowing nod.  

“What a boring guy,” the barista snidely remarks. He then calculates their total and asks Jongin for the money, who makes such a dramatic action to flatten it on the counter. He eyes Sehun right after he does it, too, as if he’s trying to show that he’s such a man for paying for the two of them. Sehun rolls his eyes and melts away into the café booths. He decides that he would let the proud breadwinner Jongin carry the tray to their table.

Sehun chooses a booth that’s pressed up against the glass wall of windows and sits down with content. As he looks out the view, he finds that the feeling of looking down is exhilarating in itself. He sighs, realizing that he sounds almost just like Jongin. Soon enough, he’ll find the hike up Mt. Namsan to be “relaxing” and “good exercise” and “purifying for the soul.” He chuckles, knowing that he even finds that nonsense to be attractive about Jongin.

Jongin discovers him a few minutes later, striding over to set the tray down. “Such a gentleman, Sehun. Leaving me to do all the carrying, too, huh?” he laughs as he slides into the seat.

“You’re the gentleman today,” Sehun replies with indifference. “I’ll be the gentleman next time when I pay, and you can praise me for carrying the drinks.”

“I don’t understand you, Sehun. The first time we went here, you were so stuck on paying for me. But today, you didn’t even argue with me.”

“I figured that if we’re going to be doing this often, there’s no point in arguing with you. We’ll just take turns now,” he suggests.

“Suit yourself,” the other smiles with satisfaction before changing the topic. “Oh and you’re coming to my dance performance right? It’s next Saturday and I want you to be there,” he asks.

“Yeah of course I’ll go. You already showed me some of the moves, so I have to watch it all in person,” Sehun beams. “Will there be anyone else?”

“No, just you and only you,” Jongin says, and his words are laced with such a flirty tone that Sehun feels his defense crumbling. Nevertheless, he tries to recover and instead focuses on mounting a counterattack.

“But you said you had other friends, Jongin,” he responds with confidence. “How come I’ve never seen or met them before? Wouldn’t they want to see you dance, too?”

Jongin’s cheeks turn a slight pink for a moment, but it’s a noticeable moment, and Sehun revels in the fact that he was finally able to have the upper hand today. “I don’t even think any of them are aware that I dance. Actually, I don’t even think they know I work all the way up here,” he responds in an innocent tone. “They never ask about it, anyways,” he shrugs.

“Huh. Interesting,” Sehun remarks vaguely, picking up his cup to take a satisfied sip from it. He’s gushing on the inside but cannot afford to let it show through, especially not in this pivotal moment. It feels actually touching, in fact, that Jongin has already confided in him so quickly.

Needless to say, Sehun goes home that day a lot more content that he’s somewhat above Jongin’s standard “friend” status.

 


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sehun is not jealous and Sehun is not worried.

“I don’t think I belong here,” Chanyeol says, clinging to Sehun’s arm tightly as they pull through the crowd.

“Relax, Chanyeol. As soon as we find Jongin, you can leave and do whatever clothes shopping you want,” Sehun assures him. “You’re just my backup today in case I get lost.” They continue along the street and cross the road with arms linked together, and Sehun keeps his phone out in order to glance at the directions to the address.

“You know, I can stay if you don’t want to be lonely,” Chanyeol suggests kindly.

“As much as I would like that, Jongin only gets one free ticket to hand out. If you bought one, we wouldn’t even be sitting together,” Sehun reasons. Chanyeol nods in understanding and doesn’t add more to the conversation, only giving a few surprised yelps when the wind picks up speed.

“Are we almost there yet?” He finally asks as the sidewalk opens up into a broad plaza. Sehun holds up his phone and checks their surroundings for confirmation, eventually sliding it back into his pocket and curling his hands back under his sleeves.

“That clearing of grass over there is where my phone said to go, so I guess there’s a stage somewhere over that hill,” he points out. “Do you happen to see Jongin? Once we say hello to him, you’ll be free to go, Chanyeol,” he says with a little laugh.

“Is that him over there?” Chanyeol asks, pointing to the base of the hill. His finger hovers over a boy with a similar stature to Jongin, and when Sehun sees the well styled hair, he confirms that it is indeed Jongin.

“That must be him,” Sehun comments. “Let’s go greet him, then.”

“Are you sure we should be so close together like this, though? I don’t want to make anyone jealous tonight,” Chanyeol smirks, making Sehun wish he was back to being quiet as he was on the entire walk here.

“Fine, whatever you want,” Sehun coldly agrees, untangling his arm from Chanyeol’s. The wind is blowing against them as they walk, but he doesn’t dare to bury himself into the other’s body for fear of further ridicule. He’s had enough of feeding that foolish grin of Chanyeol’s for today, anyways.

As Jongin recognizes the presence of his friends, he runs up to give each of them a large hug (Sehun’s lasted longer, let the record show). “I’m so happy you showed up!” he exclaims at Sehun. “But Chanyeol, did you buy a ticket or something?”

“No, I’m just Sehun’s escort for today. I’ll be leaving right now to go do some stuff with my family, but good luck with your show! I’m sure Sehun will tell me _all_ the details,” he emphasizes.

“Thanks, Chanyeol. And have fun wherever you go today,” Jongin cheekily replies, waving a sweet goodbye to Chanyeol as he leaves. Sehun smiles at Chanyeol’s lie, knowing that he has no family affairs to tend to, but Jongin’s happiness is enough to satisfy him for the rest of the night. It was the polite thing to do on Chanyeol’s part after all, so he wouldn’t hold this over him.

“Aren’t you going to be cold performing on stage tonight?” Sehun asks out of legitimate concern, shivering at the violent winds.

“There’s heaters on stage, so it shouldn’t be that bad. But judging by what I have to do today, I’ll be sweating the entire time whether it’s cold or warm,” he smiles.

“I’ll be looking forward to that,” Sehun jokes with a roll of his eyes, and Jongin gently punches him in the arm in response.

“You should get going, Sehun. The show’s about to start soon, so I wouldn’t want you to miss anything important. I need to go prepare backstage anyways, so make sure to enjoy yourself.” Jongin boldly winks at Sehun before waving a quick goodbye, running over the hill and disappearing into its cover. Sehun sighs with admiration and follows in suit, leisurely walking over to the pit of seats with his ticket in hand.

 

~~~

 

When the show finally starts, Sehun finds himself to be in a love and hate relationship with his seating area. As a benefit to being Jongin’s guest, he gets to sit just a few rows close to the front. On the other hand, he’s surrounded by overenthusiastic girls to his left, right, front, and back, and being boxed in by strangers makes him feel incredibly uncomfortable.

“Be prepared for that,” Jongin had told him yesterday as they were talking about the performance day. “Most of the guys invite their girlfriends, so you just might be the only guy in that front section,” he said with a teasing laugh. Even though Sehun had found that an exaggerated statement yesterday, as he sits amongst these girls, he finds that Jongin was actually not joking that time. Maybe he should be flattered then, he wonders, but he decides to not delve into any deeper meaning. He was just here to support a friend.

The show is more legitimate than he believes, as the seats are crowded with about 500 people, and an entire set of camera equipment is propped up in the back to film it all. Sehun then realizes that Jongin’s “team for fun” is not really just a start-up dance crew, but an assembly of boys from a talented dance academy that promotes frequently. He doesn’t know why Jongin goes to his school instead of that academy, but all he knows is that Jongin has been definitely underscoring his own talent.

That assumption is further supported when Jongin comes out onto stage and completely annihilates the show. Sehun finds his eyes trailing him across the stage as he precisely nails his routine, and he claps even louder when he sees Jongin in the center leading the group. He feels proud on the inside that his friend has such talent, and maybe Sehun has just a little pleasure at being in the intimate front row section.

Nevertheless, that pleasure fades away when Jongin does a thirty second solo freestyle. The girls around Sehun are all screaming his name in high-pitched voices, and Sehun is thrown off guard so much that his own cheers cut off mid-performance. He feels a small flame of jealousy burning at his core and decides to throw gasoline at it, making sure that his deeper voice pierces through all the female shrieking. Sehun’s going to regret every action he makes, but he continues his shouts without flinching a bit. It was a territorial thing, he supposed.

The climax of the front section’s roaring occurs at the very end, as all of the boys are lined up and bowing for the crowd. Sehun feels his throat straining just a bit, although he keeps his cheering up with the knowledge that he wouldn’t need to speak to anyone tomorrow. He knows that he’s probably creeped out all of the girls around him with his frantic yelling, but it didn’t matter. It only mattered to him that Jongin received all of his support.

By the time the closing remarks conclude the show, Sehun realizes that night has fallen upon the city. He gets up out of his seat and follows the crowd of people out, making sure to ignore any female comment he hears about how “amazing that Kim Jongin is” and how “hot he was during that solo.” He knows that most of those girls are simply enthusiastic girlfriends of other dancers, but he jealously wonders why they are commenting more on his Jongin rather than their own boys. It was also a territorial thing, he supposed.

As the dancers clear out from backstage in their casual clothes, Sehun is standing on the side in awkward anticipation for his special friend. He leans against one of the store walls in discomfort, rocking back and forth on his heels and toes. The small crowd of proud friends and family masks his presence, but it doesn’t help to ease his anxiety, as he just wants to congratulate Jongin for the great show.

When Jongin does come out, however, Sehun is beat by the same group of girls that was sitting by him during the performance. They flock around him with joy and shower him with compliments, remarking that Jongin was such a wonderful dancer, that he had to have been training since he was little, and so on, so on… Sehun turns away and instead focuses on the brightly lit street lamps, not daring to see what the girls continued to fawn over. He even contemplates just going home until a finger pokes his side (after what feels like an eternity) and calls his attention.

“Were you looking for me?” Jongin voices with a wide smile. He’s somewhat dry in the cold, yet there’s still droplets of sweat at the corners of his forehead.

“Yeah, I was. I just wanted to say that you did a really good job on stage,” Sehun says smoothly. “Everyone around me agreed that you were the best, especially during that solo,” he adds, although he removes any trace of spite in his tone as he says it.

Jongin flushes with embarrassment but manages to humbly say, “Thank you, Sehun. I was hoping that you’d like it. I was especially happy that I heard your voice cheering for me.”

“Oh you heard me?” Sehun blushes meekly. “I just really was in the moment and I wanted to cheer for you,“ he explains with sincerity. “Anyways, would you like me to walk you home?”

“Yeah, sure. I’d appreciate it,” Jongin accepts, and the two cut through the cobblestone plaza, turning back onto the linear street. Jongin, complaining of the cold, casually slips his hand into Sehun’s as they walk. He feels satisfied at the warmth radiating from Sehun’s hand and relaxes into the touch. It’s these little things that he tends to enjoy.

“By the way, did you know those girls? They were sitting by me,” Sehun suddenly asks with curiosity, trying to not make his ulterior motive so blatantly obvious.

“No, I’ve never seen them before. I think they’re just friends and girlfriends of people on the team” Jongin responds, and deep on the inside he feels as if he has caught onto what Sehun wants to ask. He nudges Sehun lightly in the shoulder and adds, “Why do you ask? Did you think that one of them was cute?”

“No, not at all,” he adamantly replies.

“Why not? One of them even gave me her number so that we could dance together in the future. I think her name’s Sooyoung,” Jongin playfully teases.

“Stop joking with me,” Sehun whines, and he shifts his gaze away from Jongin. He feels like he’s being stabbed every time Jongin brings up a topic such as this, and it hurts more than the surface level of teasing. Just when Sehun thinks he can cope with his daily life with Jongin, the other has to make all of his efforts collapse to the ground.

“I’m just teasing, Sehunnie. I don’t really mean it all. Besides, if you really liked someone, I’m sure you would tell me directly,” Jongin confesses honestly.

“Sure I would,” the other replies sarcastically, although his laugh is quite hollow. At that moment, he knows that the universe is laughing at him with such scorn. It feels as if the irony is naturally woven into his life to make it a tangled mess. He sighs for the millionth time at his crappy mood.

Jongin makes no further effort to branch off of the topic, and Sehun is effectively satisfied by the absence of conversation. He would much rather prefer holding hands and walking in silence at the moment, reveling in what would be his own ideal relationship.

Nevertheless, it all comes to a screeching halt when Jongin missteps on the curb and hisses in pain.

“Damn it!” he swears as he bends down, rubbing his right foot with his hands.

“Are you okay?” Sehun asks, immediately kneeling down to look at his friend in the eyes.

“I’m fine. I must have just injured it from dancing too much,” Jongin painfully replies. “I’m sure I can still walk,” he insists, although he completely fails when he tries to take a step forward, falling back into a kneeling position.

“You’ve been overworking yourself, you idiot,” Sehun scolds, and he runs up to Jongin to support him with an arm. “How much have you been practicing, Jongin?”

“Every day…” he quietly admits.

“Every day? How is that possible? I’ve been with you at work this entire week,” Sehun says with disbelief.

“I know you have. I just didn’t tell you that I would go straight to practice as soon as I got off the bus,” Jongin explains with clear sadness. “Don’t be so mad, Sehunnie.” He senses the anger in Sehun’s voice as it raises, and he has no idea how to ease it away.

“I’m not mad, I’m just pissed off,” Sehun says in an odd contradiction. “You’ve been going to both work and practice this entire week and you didn’t even think to tell me? We could’ve just taken the cable car up and down the mountain instead of hiking all the steps,” Sehun argues with a flare of anger building up instead of him. “What are you even thinking, Jongin?”

“I just didn’t want you to worry,” Jongin weakly says as an excuse. He’s now visibly grimacing at the pain in his feet, and Sehun has to put in more effort to keep Jongin up and walking.

“Well I definitely look worried now, don’t I?” Sehun remarks corrosively. It’s enough that he has a mad crush on Jongin, but now he has to deal with his pathetic acting so that Sehun wouldn’t have to “worry.” He huffs out a large breath – not out of exhaustion, but out of irritation.

It takes a big effort, but the two are finally able to slowly progress along the sidewalk at a turtle’s pace, occasionally stopping so that Jongin can regain his energy. He’s not entirely hobbling on his foot, but he’s limping, which in itself worries Sehun more than it should. Sehun even offers to carry Jongin on his back, but the injured boy only refuses, saying that they were “just a few minutes away” from his home. Sehun sighs and treads on.

Eventually, the two end up at Jongin’s apartment building after ten more laborious minutes. Sehun forces Jongin into the elevator and presses the button, allowing a cloak of silence to settle as they move up several floors. He’s now not only emotionally tired, but physically as well from heaving Jongin through streets. He doesn’t even dare to look at the other in the eyes, as he knows he’ll be greeted by a pout and sorrowful eyes.

When the door opens back up, the silence breaks apart again. Sehun naturally grabs Jongin’s arm and wraps it around his back, leading the two of them into the hallway in search for his room. As Jongin points out his door number with his free hand, Sehun removes his arm from Jongin and holds the door open for him to walk through.

“You better put some ice on that and rest for the entire weekend,” Sehun commands with emphasis.

“I will, Sehun,” Jongin quietly voices out. “And I’m sorry about not telling you,” he shyly apologizes.

“Don’t be sorry. But next time, you have to tell me things like this when they happen. We could’ve prevented some of this pain,” Sehun reprimands him. “Anyways, good night and I hope you sleep well.” He shakes off his anger for a moment to lean in and hug Jongin, pulling away with a bitter smile.

“Thanks. I’m really sorry for all the trouble, though. I promise I’ll make it up to you,” he promises.

“If you really want to make it up to me, then go to bed right now and rest,” Sehun concludes, waving one more time before closing the door shut. He turns down the hallway into the elevator and leans against the wall with heavy shoulders.

As he walks out of the building, he finds his night ending up feeling the opposite of how he expected it to be. “What am I going to do with you, Kim Jongin?” Sehun asks to the air in frustration. Nonetheless, when he is expectantly left without an answer, he knows that the question is directed to his heart.  

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you guys for the support! Please spread around the SeKai love <3


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jongin reaches an epiphany.

“You’re around here a lot. Are you sure you don’t work anywhere up here?” Minseok asks in a jocular tone.

“No, I just come here for fun with Jongin,” Sehun chuckles.

“You should think about getting hired here, then,” Minseok suggests. “We have an opening here, you know. You could schedule your hours to fit with Jongin’s for convenience, too.”

Sehun raises his eyebrow in interest, nodding his head in thought of the proposal. “That wouldn’t sound too bad,” he comments slowly.

“Well if it’s a deal-maker, then you also get to work with the amazing Minseok,” the other boy laughs. “I heard he’s a kind, hard-working guy that treats all of his customers and co-workers with respect.”

“Minseok, I think you saying that is a reason of why I should _not_ work here,” Sehun playfully speaks back. Minseok smacks his arm in response, reminding him to “respect his elders” and “not act like such a brat.” Sehun just grins while listening, picturing the possibility of working in this building to not be such a bad idea.

The reason he’s stopped by the café this time is to pick up their usual drinks from Minseok, and he’s alone because he had forced Jongin to stay within the confines of the gift shop. “Why can’t I even go up the elevator?” Jongin had whined earlier, to which Sehun responded with a piercing glare and a shake of the head. In no way was Sehun going to watch Jongin overwork his body again, so he made sure that his movement was minimized.

In fact, Sehun has been dutifully by Jongin’s side the entire week, not missing a day to follow him to work. He initially advised Jongin to just take the week off of work, but Jongin stubbornly denied doing anything like that. He argued that he sincerely needed the money for himself and refused to budge, forcing Sehun to simply heed to the other’s wishes.

They were able to work around Jongin’s slight injury, however, by actually putting Jongin’s employee cable pass into use. In this way, they were able to substitute the daily hike for a tranquil ride up the side of the mountain. If Sehun were in a better mood, he might have even called the rides ‘romantic,’ as they ran in such a way that all of the scenic points could be seen in one package. He doesn’t dare to think this way, though. Not when there’s only him and Jongin sharing the same cable car.

“Your usual order is here,” Minseok then announces, pulling out the familiar green drinks in a to-go tray for Sehun to bring up.

“Thanks, Minseok,” Sehun replies kindly.

“No problem,” the barista smiles. “Tell Jongin that I hope his foot gets better, though. Nothing’s broken right?”

“No, the doctor saw no broken bones or fractures thankfully. He thinks it’s just soreness from overuse, so as long as Jongin doesn’t use that foot too much, he should be fine,” Sehun responds. “Anyways, I should get going before he starts complaining. Bye Minseok,” he waves.

“See you later. And think about what I said about you working here,” Minseok calls out, returning the wave with his own.

Sehun heads back down the elevator and arrives promptly at the gift shop with the drinks in hand. Jongin is cutely perched over the counter with his hand in his palms, eyes pointed downwards with such sadness contained inside. “I’m back!” Sehun announces loudly, pulling Jongin out of his stupor.

“What took you so long?” Jongin says in a half-whine. “It felt like you were gone forever.”

“I was just talking with Minseok,” he says as his excuse, and Jongin’s eyes narrow at him.

“Were you guys talking about me?” the boy asks with curiosity.

“God, not everything is about you, Jongin,” Sehun teases. “But yes, we did talk about you. We talked about your crippled body, and Minseok wishes that you feel better.”

“That’s sweet of him, but if he really wanted to make me feel better, he wouldn’t have made you pay,” Jongin refutes.

“He can’t just hand out freebies every day, you know.”

“I know, but he should be a man and pay for his friends. We are his loyal customers, and we deserve to be treated well.”

“You’re too demanding, Jongin,” Sehun says, leaning over to sip some Frappuccino from his straw.

“But you have to put up with this for about two more hours,” Jongin smiled, making Sehun groan in return. Junmyeon had called in sick today, and despite Jongin’s persistent complaining that he should find someone else to fill in for him, Jongin had given in. So here they were on a Thursday evening, staying later than they needed to be.

At least Sehun found the time to be passable, though. Whenever he was around Jongin, it seemed that a half-hour could pass in a conversation that seemed like five minutes, so being in Namsan Tower for just a few more hours didn’t hurt him. Besides, it’s not like Sehun could leave, seeing that he was Jongin’s personal nurse for the time being.

As he expects, the hours pass by quickly as a combination of their lively conversation and knack for playing around. Sehun, out of his boredom, even strolls through the aisles of the shop and picks up souvenirs, advertising each of them to Jongin in the most embarrassing way that he can. The occasional customer would come in to break up their playing time, but as soon as the customer left, the two would be back to playing childish games to occupy the extended stay.

Soon enough, Junmyeon’s shift is over, and Jongin announces that it’s time to leave with an obnoxious yawn. They throw on their coats and close up the gift shop, dimming the lights behind them. As they head out into the plaza, however, Jongin suddenly comes to a painful discovery. “Shit! I forgot that they close the cable cars around this time,” he curses, pointing over to the area to show that there was no action occurring.

“What are we going to do? Will you be able to walk down the stairs?” Sehun asks with worry.

“I haven’t been doing anything with my feet, so I hope it’ll be fine. We don’t have any other choice, anyways.”

Sehun grimly nods and walks over to Jongin to hook their arms together. As they head over to the top of the staircase, he looks back over at Jongin with concern before they start stepping down the staircase. Jongin looks nervous, but pain fortunately doesn’t seem to show. Even so, they take careful and ginger steps, not wanting to upset anything in Jongin’s feet.

To his misfortune, Sehun finds that Jongin is starting to limp once they reach the base of the staircase. They’re no longer changing elevation; however, there’s still quite a distance to the bus stop by foot. As the path flattens out, Sehun bends down and beckons the other to climb onto his back.

“This’ll be faster,” he reasons.

“Are you sure? I can walk the rest of the path on my own,” Jongin insists.

“You’re already limping, Jongin, and we don’t have enough time for you to limp all the way to the bus stop.”

“Fine. You’re right,” he concedes with a frown.

“Good. Now hop on,” Sehun commands.

Jongin nods in understanding, lightly dragging his foot over so that he can mount Sehun’s back. When he’s all settled, Sehun stands upright and hooks his hands under Jongin’s knees. He mutters soft complaints about the other being too heavy but doesn’t decide to retract his offer. Instead, they restart their walk on the path, now at a more efficient pace.

“Sehun, you know you really didn’t have to do this,” Jongin mutters out quietly.

“Do you expect to just let you limp away on your own?” Sehun questions out of disbelief. Jongin feels the other’s grip tighten on his legs, as if Sehun is trying to prove his point.

“Not just that,” he argues. “I’m talking about all of those other things for you did for me. It’s enough that you spoil me now, but you don’t have to bring me bags of ice at school or make sure that I take painkillers. I can handle myself,” Jongin quietly asserts.

“You need someone to take care of you, Jongin,” Sehun says, and his tone is so devoid of emotion that Jongin knows that Sehun means it for real. “If you had no one there to tell you to be careful, then you’d think that you could push yourself to do anything. Don’t be brave,” he advises.

Jongin opens his mouth in order to counter Sehun’s words, but he finds enough truth in the other’s advice that he is left with no defense. “Okay,” he meekly replies, never knowing a time that he felt so vulnerable in front of Sehun. It’s a weird balance of power in this situation, and Jongin can’t help but wonder why Sehun gets so authoritative when he’s injured like this. It must be a territorial thing, he jokes to himself.

Sehun carries him along the darkened path at a good pace, and it’s looking like they can make the bus stop before it’s too dark until his foot makes direct contact with a large rock on the ground. Sehun collapses forward, and Jongin follows suit, his landing not as rough due to the cushion of Sehun’s body.

“Oh my god, are you okay Sehun?” Jongin asks, trying to see if Sehun was injured in any way.

“I’m fine,” Sehun grimaces, although he can feel a wet patch of blood forming at his scraped knee. He decides to keep that information hidden, however, and bends back over so that Jongin can mount him again.

“Alright, but don’t hurt yourself too much. It’s okay if we take a minute to rest,” Jongin softly replies, again accepting Sehun’s offer to carry him.

As Sehun lifts him back up, Jongin instinctively moves his head forward to plant a soft kiss in his savior’s hair, and the other exhales a sigh in response. Needless to say, no words come out of Sehun’s mouth, and they resume their walk home for the third time. Jongin stares at the back of Sehun’s head with admiration, believing that he must be a superhuman for having such strength and determination.

It’s in this moment that Jongin sees something in Sehun’s eyes. He doesn’t have a good view of them at the moment, but as he tilts his head to the side, he finds that there’s a visible glint in Sehun’s right eye. It shouldn’t be that special to an ordinary person, yet Jongin finds it to be fascinating. Like a small candle light, it flickers weakly but with persistence, and he finds that he can’t remove his eyes from it.

It’s also in this moment that Jongin discovers how much Sehun has done for him. Sehun has been his loyal friend who filled every empty work day of his with energy, making Jongin actually accustomed to enjoying to work instead of dreading it. He finds that Sehun is just a kind-hearted person in general, being someone that listens to his problems, comes to support his activities, and treats him well without expecting the favor to be repaid.

And it’s especially in this moment that Jongin finds a part of him being expressed deep inside. Just being here, attached to Sehun, makes him _feel_ something, and he does not know what it is. As Jongin buries his head into Sehun’s shoulder, he consciously thinks of his action for once, suddenly wondering how often he initiates skinship with Sehun. He never asks for permission, and he never lessens its frequency, yet Sehun had never seemed to have a problem with it. The whole occurrence seems to come natural to them, and Jongin also wonders if Sehun was ever made uncomfortable by it.

When Jongin realizes all of these things, he finally feels that he has been lacking in everything that Sehun has provided him. He deeply nuzzles his head into Sehun’s shoulder with disappointment, tuning out whatever complaints are thrown out in response. As Mt. Namsan disappears behind them, he wonders how much exhaustion Sehun is feeling right now, and the thought of it makes guilt bubble up in his stomach.

Nevertheless, Jongin’s only solace lies within Sehun’s warmth. Personally, he thinks that it’d be weird to admit that he enjoys Sehun’s touch the most, but in this moment, he allows those kind of thoughts to permeate his mind. There’s something different about being held by the other now; the feeling is foreign to him, but it’s something real and genuine. Jongin pouts at his discovery, unable to properly label it? Was it appreciation? Affection? Admiration?

Jongin is new to this feeling of warmth in his heart, as it has never reached this temperature before. He thinks it’s different to like someone like Sehun – not strange, not weird, but just different. He knew he always had an affinity for his friend, yet it wasn’t until now that it clicked together. With the way Sehun protects him and accepts his affection, it just makes sense now. And as this discovery settles in, Jongin’s eyes steadily flutter shut, sleep grabbing at him and pulling him under.

 

~~~

 

As he wakes up, he finds that he’s now off Sehun’s back and instead sitting on the familiar bench at the bus stop. His head is leaning against Sehun’s shoulder, and there’s an arm wrapped around his side to keep him close. Jongin immediately closes his eyes in discovery, hoping that he doesn’t disrupt this moment and its perfection. He feels Sehun’s hand smoothly stroke his arm affectionately, and the resulting blush in his cheeks confirms everything that he feels.

Now, when he thinks of what Sehun means to him, he doesn’t think of just loyalty and friendship. No, Jongin thinks deeper than that, because Sehun seems to sacrifice more than what just a good friend would. He seems to find that the other boy contains every quality he desires in his ideal type, and maybe it’s just a coincidence that he ends up alongside of Jongin. He smiles at this thought, rubbing his head into Sehun’s shoulder with content. Sehun just sighs, moving his hand downwards to play with Jongin’s fingers.

Jongin silently scolds himself for not noticing any of this earlier.


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jongin likes Sehun. Sehun likes Jongin.

They’re back outside in the vibrant sunlight at lunch, lazing around the silver-glossed steps of the school. Like the other boys in their grade, they lounge in the temporary freedom with content, and although the threat of an exam should dislodge them from this, they defiantly remain in nothingness. It feels still for once in this moment, and the passage of time seems to be delayed just for now.

There aren’t any words being said, but Sehun’s nose slightly scrunches at the mood around the two of them. He squirms around in discomfort, the grass tickling his back like little sharp fingers. His head is propped up against Jongin’s left knee, and it rests on his thigh calmly. His gaze is fixed upwards so that he can’t see the other’s face, but with the way Sehun feels Jongin’s thigh tense and relax constantly (is it even trembling?), it’s hard to picture him with a content expression.

“Is something wrong? You’re not saying anything,” Sehun groggily drags out, slightly lifting his head.

“No, go back to sleep,” Jongin softly says, gently pushing the other’s head back down onto his lap. He has an open textbook perched on his right knee as an excuse for silence, but seeing that he stopped reading as soon as Sehun laid down, there sincerely was no reason for this awkwardness. Other than maybe Jongin’s little crush. But it was miniscule. Nothing that important to make his muscles tighten with anxiety, or his chest shake with nervousness. No, Jongin was in _perfect_ condition.

“I wasn’t even sleeping,” Sehun argues, although he obediently settles back down onto Jongin’s thigh.

“I thought you were,” Jongin replies, and he then feels the need to use his fake excuse. “I’m just busy studying this material for our biology exam,” he assures the other, patting the open pages loudly.

“You can still talk to me, you know. We have the same teacher and the same exam, so there’s no reason to be studying alone,” Sehun states aloud. He finds Jongin’s current behavior to be quite abnormal, as not a day had ever passed without his voice dominating a conversation. It’s pleasant right now, but oddly so.

“It’s okay,” he tells the other in response. “Why don’t we just talk about something else? Anything interesting going on?”

“What the heck is with you today?” Sehun questions out of disbelief, and Jongin peers down to see his eyebrows cutely raised up. “You’re always the first one to talk about anything. Since when does Oh Sehun get to go first before the great Kim Jongin?” he teases the other.

Jongin responds by flicking Sehun’s forehead, although the action is simply met with a soft whine. “Maybe I’m just feeling nice today,” he says with little confidence. He can feel the heat radiating from his cheeks, and he lifts his hand to wipe them as if they’ll cool off from the touch. “So, do you have any interesting news or not?” he follows up quickly, wanting to fill in the void of silence.

Sehun turns his body to his left so that he can glance up at Jongin’s face. He bites his tongue in hesitation, deciding whether he has anything to say. “I’m going to work with Minseok starting next week,” he resolutely lets out, dropping the news as casually as he can.

After an interview with Minseok’s boss, Sehun was hired on the spot for a job at the café, due to his “pleasant” personality and ability to deal with customers. At least, that was what Minseok and his boss told him. Sehun assumed that it was just because he was capable and actually willing to go the distance for this small café job. The mountain wasn’t exactly an ideal work distance for anyone.

“Really?” Jongin asks aloud, eyes opened wide with surprise.

“I mean, he said that they were working and since I come up with you almost every day, why not? I might as well be making money, too.”

“I’m happy for you,” Jongin initially says, but the surprise in his eyes eventually fizzles out. “What about me though? Are you going to leave me back alone in that shop?” he asks Sehun, although the question seemingly comes out as a whining complaint.

Sehun smiles at Jongin’s cute pouting and pats his side with comfort. “We’ll still get to walk together and get drinks together, you know. Besides, I’m sure you can live without me by your side for a few hours.”

Jongin begs to differ at Sehun’s last statement, but he keeps that argument inside his head.

“Whatever,” he ends up saying with a soft chuckle, and he closes his textbook shut. After tossing it into an area of grass, Jongin starts off the ground slowly, using his palms to hoist himself off the ground. Sehun removes himself from his leg and sits up with a yawn, reaching behind him to dust off the green streaks of grass pressed on his back.

“Is it time already? That felt too short,” he finishes at the end of his yawn.

“It’s because you were just laying here doing nothing,” Jongin playfully scolds. He bends down to comb the back of Sehun’s head, aligning the messy strands back into their normal state. Jongin makes a silent realization that he enjoys playing with Sehun’s soft hair, and he remembers to keep that in mind along with other things he likes to do with Sehun.

As they walk back to their respective classes, Jongin feels more refreshed. The pain in his foot has been easing away until it’s barely noticeable, and he attributes his success to Sehun’s constant care (“No, Jongin. I know you like to be cool and walk on your own, but you better hold my hand and use me as support whenever we see stairs”). He smiles at the memories, joking to himself that he should get injured more often so that he gets that special treatment from Sehun.

It’s been just a week since that piggy-back incident with Sehun, so every moment of the event remains fresh in Jongin’s mind. He remembers Sehun’s firm grip on his legs, the tranquility of their surroundings, and how nicely his head fit on Sehun’s shoulder. And when Jongin remembers this, he suddenly remembers further into the path. He realizes that maybe every touch and “friendly” display of affection he made contained a deeper feeling to it, and if he had to make an assumption, it was possible that Sehun reciprocated it all. It’s a big _if_ , however. More than anything, it’s a hopeful idea to Jongin.

But as usual, he keeps this thinking to himself, and the two separate into their classes with a brief goodbye.

 

~~~

 

It’s another Friday night that Sehun and Jongin are gathered together a second time, this time at Jongin’s house. His room is similarly laid out like Sehun’s, with a bed at the center left and a dresser and desk placed in the right corner. In fact, maybe the most striking contrast is the neatness of it all, and Sehun even joked that Jongin went through all the trouble of cleaning just for him.

“It’s usually like this,” Jongin had refuted, but there was a soft tinge of red in his cheeks that told Sehun that he was lying.

Nevertheless, the two are sprawled across Jongin’s bed on their stomachs, eyes trained on the laptop screen in front of them. Jongin had chosen another drama for them to binge through, this one being “Descendants of the Sun.” Whether it was good or not escaped Sehun’s mind, however, as he was rather focused on the boy next to him.

Sehun finds it quite unfair to him that Jongin had decided to sport a sleeveless shirt, as the sight of his arms seems to distract him from whatever was going on in the drama. Sure, Sehun’s gaze was pointed at the screen in fake concentration, but in his opinion, the sight of Jongin’s biceps was superior to any drama, even with Song Joongki vying for his attention in front of him.

Jongin, as expected, fails to take notice of Sehun’s little glances. In sharp contrast to Sehun, he finds himself completely fixed on the screen and unable to pull his eyes away. Despite this concentration, it’s not because of the interesting plot of the drama, but rather because of his body’s reaction to his embarrassed feelings. The feeling of Sehun pressed up to his side sends shockwaves to Jongin’s core, and he feels a warmth inside him at the contact.

“What’s even going on?” Sehun asks at one point, and Jongin shakes his head to signal that he doesn’t know either. “I thought you watched this already,” Sehun trails off, lazily leaning over to lay his head on Jongin’s back. Recently, he finds himself to be initiating skinship more frequently than Jongin, and although the shift in power is nice, it makes him wonder if Jongin is put off by it.

“No, I’ve never seen this either. I haven’t really been paying attention either, though,” he admits. Sehun again feels Jongin’s body tense up under his head, but like before, it goes away in a few seconds and relaxes.

“Should we go to sleep then?” Sehun suggests, his words mumbled into the soft fabric of Jongin’s shirt. “I don’t think we’re even watching it anymore.”

“Sure,” Jongin complies, clamping the laptop shut and setting it aside. To Sehun’s dismay, he breaks their connection and gets off from the bed, moving the laptop to his desk in the other corner. “How do you want to sleep tonight?” he asks as he walks back, perching himself on the edge of the bed.

“I can sleep on the ground,” Sehun offers, and Jongin dismissively waves his hand at the suggestion.

“I’ll sleep on the ground, since it’s my place and I’m the host.”

“No, but I really want to sleep on the ground,” Sehun insists. “I find it more comfortable.”

“Rock, paper, scissors, then,” Jongin suggests. He knows that Sehun’s perseverance can’t be broken with sheer argument, so he’d rather go for a more classic solution than verbal argument.

“Fine,” Sehun stubbornly agrees.

They shake their fists several times before revealing their choice, and Jongin’s hand unfolds into paper while Sehun’s switches into scissors. “Looks like I get the floor,” Sehun triumphantly remarks, patting Jongin’s head with sympathy. “You can win next time, Jongin,” he adds with an air of arrogance.

“Why don’t you just sleep next to me on the bed, Sehun?” Jongin asks, sour at his defeat. He doesn’t appreciate Sehun being courteous to him because for one, it’s unnecessary, and for another, it makes Jongin like him even more.

Upon hearing the alternative, Sehun gulps with nervousness. The thought of just sharing a bed with Jongin… no no no. He tells himself it can’t happen and responds, saying, “No it’s really okay, Jongin. You don’t need to do that for me.”

“ _You_ don’t need to this for me,” Jongin emphasizes, rubbing at Sehun’s side with his hand. “Come on, Sehunnie. Can’t you for once just be selfish and accept the better option. For me?” He feels slight guilt that Sehun always lowers himself so that he can treat Jongin with kindness, and the inequality doesn’t settle with him well.

“Will there even be enough room for me?” Sehun questions, steering the conversation somewhere else so that he doesn’t have to respond to Jongin’s question.

“Of course there will be!” Jongin exclaims, laying back down on the bed to directly look into Sehun’s face. He finds that these generosity fights with Sehun are both endearing and stupid, and it doesn’t help that Sehun is definitely more obstinate and unwilling to move in his resolve. “Please?” Jongin begs with a pout, trying to play to Sehun’s soft spot for cuteness.

“No,” he refuses, although it’s with a weak voice.

“Sehun, pleasseeeeee….” Jongin strongly protests. He’s tugging hard now on the other’s hand, even shaking it up and down with emphasis. Sehun hastily breaks away and gets off the bed, standing up and pacing across the floor. If it was anything else, he would have respected Jongin’s wishes and done whatever the other wanted. However, this was crossing a line in Sehun’s book.

“Why can’t you listen to me, Sehun? Just this once?” Jongin asks, and at this point he’s beginning to feel hurt that Sehun is persistently rejecting him. It shouldn’t matter that much to him, but it really does.

“Alright, alright, fine,” Sehun gives in with irritation. He knows it’s not going to be a good idea, the two of them sleeping in the same bed, but he has no energy to fight with Jongin at this time of night.

Jongin happily claps his hands and scoots over, leaving room for Sehun to crawl back in. He pulls the blanket over the two of them and sighs, content with another source of warmth beside him. “Thank you, Sehun,” he murmurs gratefully, squirming around to adjust his sleeping position.

“Just don’t hog the blanket,” Sehun responds coldly, although there’s a hint of a smile on his lips. “Anyways, good night, Jongin.” He turns to face the edge of the bed, having a staring contest with the wall. He doesn’t know what he did to deserve this treatment, and he curses whatever force made this situation occur. No, it would not be good for them to be this close, Sehun supposes, so he inches even a bit more outwards away from Jongin.

It is very Jongin-like, however, for him to pull Sehun back into the center with an arm. There aren’t any noises from Jongin, other than his steady breathing, so Sehun again gives in and let the arm drape over his side. Out of boredom, he even starts playing with the fingers of Jongin’s outstretched hand, warmly twisting them with his own. Jongin hums softly with satisfaction, tugging Sehun towards him even more.

“Good night, Sehun,” Jongin randomly responds, despite Sehun saying it minutes and minutes ago. Sehun finds it okay, nevertheless, as the words delicately ghost past his ears, and he finds that he likes this calm voice of Jongin’s.

“A bit too late, but good night again, Jongin,” he responds, and that brings an end to any further conversation for the night. Sehun untangles his fingers and instead tugs on the blanket for warmth, to which Jongin responds by just moving his arm downwards and wrapping it around Sehun’s waist.

In any context, this is too strange to be between friends, Sehun tells himself. Jongin is literally cuddling with him from behind, Sehun is interlacing their fingers, they are sharing a bed, and everything is basically oozing over into a pool of nonsense. It is as if he’s in a sandbox, digging around and pushing aside grains in search of fantasy, only to find that there was nothing. Everything is real, and it sucks. And when Jongin’s head adorably rubs into his shoulder, Sehun swears that his eyes almost water up in disappointment. He wishes that Jongin could behave like every other straight boy.

 

 


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sehun sees Jongin as well as other stuff.

Waking up is a laborious effort. As Sehun shifts around in the bed, his eyes lazily opening and closing, there is still an arm curved around his side and still a sleeping body behind him. It takes him a few moments to regain sense of his surroundings, but when he does, he sighs in disappointment that he is not home. The aroma of his friend’s room is in fact so similar that it could deceive him into thinking that he is in his own bed, waking up on a Saturday morning alone.

Sehun really isn’t against the current state of his morning, however, as his body is relaxed underneath the sheets of Jongin’s bed. What concerns him more is the aftermath of everything. Sitting in Jongin’s locked hold, he would assume that the two of them wouldn’t discuss this again, but their position itself is too intimate to silently forget. He scrunches his nose and slides his hand down to grip the solid, unmoving arm.

Jongin’s relaxed breathing comes out in small puffs of air, and when it grazes his bare neck, he finds himself squirming from the ticklish sensation. He leans forward by instinct, biting his tongue inadvertently and painfully. There’s a sound and a recoil from the harsh feeling in his mouth, but Sehun instantly cups his hand over his mouth to mute any further noises. He looks back at Jongin to see that he is still breathing undisturbed, chest rising and falling periodically.

After a few moments of thought and hesitation, Sehun decides to break free of this prison-like hold. Gently, he lifts up the arm and tumbles off the bed, his feet just barely being able to land properly on time. Again, he turns back to look at Jongin’s soft expression and smiles faintly. There’s an angelic appearance to his countenance, and his blissful expression seems to even calm the air around him.  

As Sehun heads to the bathroom to wash up for the morning, he can’t help thinking about it and the way it lingers around in his mind. Even so, as he converses with the reflection in front of him, he reminds himself to be calm and practice self-restraint. He wets his hands under a stream of water and pats his cheeks with slight aggression.

When he examines his face in closer detail, he realizes that there’s a duller quality to it. Two darkened spots dip under his eyes like crescent moons, and aside from his crimson ears, the tone as a whole has whitened into a paler shade. Sehun figures he’s just tired, but then again he wonders to what extent is he tired. Physically, emotionally, mentally…

Whatever. Despite a residual bitterness inside, he feels inclined to be happy in the presence of his friend. Nevertheless, the frown in the glass of course makes it hard to seem satisfied, so he manages to flip its corners and exit the room with a warmer ambience.

His absence had apparently awakened Jongin, as the boy was upright on the bed. “Why are you up so early?” Jongin whines out, lazily collapsing down.

“Why are you up so late?” Sehun retorts, leaning over to tear the blanket off Jongin. Their playful dynamic naturally appears, and it makes the morning a bit brighter.

“Whyyyy,” the victim groans into the mattress. “Come back to bed please. I’m tired.”

“You’re just going to waste the day like this if we sleep all day,” Sehun scolds the other. “Do we even have any idea what we’re doing today? Or are we just going to stay here at home?”

“I wanted to go to the movies,” Jongin mumbles into his pillow with embarrassment.

“What did you say?”

“I wanted to go to the movies,” he repeats, this time without the muffling. Sehun raises his eyebrows at the prospect of another date, but he chooses to ignore it and press on with his questioning.

“Going to the movies is just a few hours. What do we do after?”

“I don’t know,” the other whines.

“You know what? Just go take a shower and we’ll go out somewhere,” Sehun suggests with fake irritation. There’s not much he can do with a whiny Jongin except give him orders, so he tosses him off the bed and shoves him into the bathroom forcefully. Jongin lets out a large yawn before closing the door shut, leaving Sehun back alone.

With curiosity, Sehun steps over to the far window and pulls open the curtains, letting the rays flood the room.

 

~~~

 

The sun is almost setting by the time they step into the crowd. Jongin throws out excuses that he just _had_ to go check out that last shoe store because the sale would end tomorrow, and Sehun responds with a roll of his eyes. “Just because there’s a sale, doesn’t mean you have to try on almost everything in the store,” he huffs. Jongin pouts at his side and lowers his head in shame.

Today had been a pretty dry day in terms of events. Their breakfast had been half-assed, their lunch had been eaten in a nearby diner, and all of the time in between had been spent aimlessly wandering the streets. The experience itself did not bother either of them, but the feeling of it all hung over them like a dark cloud.

Jongin initially tried to reform his forms of affection on this occasion, and just as expected, nothing was effective. If his hand wasn’t locked with Sehun’s, it was either slung over his shoulder or lowered around his waist. Sehun was no better, though, as he kept on tugging at Jongin’s sleeve for attention and accepting all of his skinship without protest. It was such a normal aspect of their relationship, yet it infuriated both of them in the same way.

As the two boys find themselves standing in front of the cinema, Sehun uncurls his fingers from their shared grip. “What do you want to see?” he asks, gazing up at the selection of movies printed in bold letters.

“I have one in mind,” Jongin cheerfully says, and within seconds he’s heading through the doors without Sehun.

With a shrug, the abandoned boy trails behind and is hit by the heat inside the theater lobby. As he pulls of his cap, he glances in the distance to see Jongin already at the desk with his wallet out. The boy seems to be chatting with the worker joyfully, and once he notices that Sehun had entered, he points him out to the worker. There’s an exchange of smiles, and eventually Jongin turns away to return to Sehun.

“Do you know him, or are you just talking with strangers?” Sehun chuckles.

“No, I know him,” Jongin defends. “He’s on my dance team, actually.”

“Oh really?”

“Yup. In fact, he recognized you as soon as I pointed you out. He was telling me that you _really_ stood out that night we performed,” Jongin elaborates with a knowing grin. Sehun is only reminded of his frantic yelling and flushes, shoving Jongin lightly to the side and walking in front. “Hey, he didn’t mean it in a bad way!” Jongin calls out, happily following behind.

After the tickets are checked, the two decide on far-off spot in the theater, opting for the far corner near the wall. Sehun is still unaware of what Jongin had picked for them to watch, but he doesn’t put much care into it anyways. Instead, he leans against the other’s shoulder and sighs, letting the trailers pass by without disturbance. At one point, Jongin brings his hand up to gently pat Sehun’s head, and his heart warms up even more when Jongin’s fingers twist and untwist his hair.

Eventually, the lights darken, and Sehun lifts off of Jongin’s shoulder to see a surprisingly packed theater, consisting of mostly young children and their parents. Sehun turns to look into Jongin’s eyes for an answer; however, Jongin merely smirks and gestures for Sehun to look at the large screen instead.  

The movie is none other than a Disney movie, and his expectations are somewhat shattered. Usually, he would expect an action movie, then a romance movie (from all the dramas they watched together), then practically anything else because a movie like this never seemed to be on Jongin’s list. “I heard it was good” is what Jongin mutters under his breath, and Sehun beams in response.

The movie lives up to Jongin’s expectations, as Sehun can tell that he enjoys it whenever he smacks Sehun during a joke or pouts at a sadder scene. At one point, Sehun can hear Jongin muttering to himself that “it’s such a creative idea,” and he naturally smiles at the other’s fascination with colorful, animated, and personified emotions. It’s a side of him that Sehun is not aware of, and as he takes in Jongin’s brimming innocence, he feels slightly jealous.

The lights brighten back up as the credits roll, and the movie’s conclusion is met with applause by almost everyone in the room, including both the two boys. “Did you like it?” Jongin asks, able to evaluate Sehun’s reaction in the light.

“I did a lot. I think it was very cute,” Sehun responds with happiness. They get up from their chairs to leave, and Jongin presses up against Sehun to grab him into a back hug.

“I’m happy then,” he says, and they waddle into the slow crowd of people pouring into the hall.

Jongin untangles his arms from Sehun when they are back in the open. He stands on his toes and stretches his muscles, causing the other to pull him off to the side. “You can’t just be an ass and block everyone from leaving,” he reprimands him. Jongin just smirks at the comment and hooks his arm into Sehun’s.

When they reach the exit of the entire theater, Jongin waves at his dance friend stationed behind the counter. The boy yells out, “Come here again!”, and Jongin nods his head visibly. He then turns his attention back to Sehun and guides them outside.

Despite it only being ten o’clock, the night has made a full descent while they were inside. Only street lights and store signs provide visual guidance, although there is the occasional car that warps by in a trail of radiance. “It’s time to go already,” Sehun remarks out loud, caught in his observation of their surroundings.

“Are you sure you can’t stay another night?” Jongin asks, and Sehun sadly shakes his head.

“I have job training tomorrow with Minseok,” he chuckles. “To think that he’ll be like my teacher is kind of funny though. Don’t you think?”

Jongin laughs to satisfy the other, although it’s devoid of true emotion. “I think it’s more funny that you’re getting this job because of me,” he replies with a sincere laugh. Sehun uses his free arm to smack the other’s shoulder, but Jongin just pulls him in closer by their linked arms. “You’re lucky no one’s around,” he teases, “or else I would have witnesses for this physical assault.”

Sehun only shakes his head and slips out of Jongin’s grasp. They’ve reached the end of the street at their point of separation. By instinct, Sehun leans in to hug Jongin, and the other accepts it kindly by wrapping his arms around Sehun’s back. “Thanks for today,” he says with sincerity, to which Sehun responds with a mumbled noise of agreement.

“Thanks for this whole date thing,” Sehun crassly says, and his eyes soon widen at his poor word choice. Fortunately, Jongin doesn’t seem to flinch nor respond to it, so he decides that he’s safe.

“Mm-hmm,” Jongin mutters to the ground, rubbing Sehun’s back with his arm before releasing him from his hold. When they pull away, Sehun’s gaze flickers to Jongin’s lips. Jongin does the same as well, his view concentrated on the area of Sehun’s face for a bit too long. Despite the exchange being about ten seconds, the tension makes it feel almost eternal. In fact, Jongin even thinks that he feels the tension pressing at his insides.

Both of them are too engrossed in their own actions to notice the other’s, but their realizations seem to come in shockingly similar moments.

Sehun blinks a few times, just noticing how close they are in proximity. In fact, his head is unconsciously leaning into Jongin’s personal space, and so he silently gasps before taking a small step backwards. He desperately hopes that Jongin is just thinking that he had spaced out for a few seconds, but the perplexed expression on the other’s face tells Sehun that he notices something.

“So I guess I’ll see you Monday?” he asks quickly.

“Yeah,” Jongin breathes out. He puts his hands in his coat pockets and looks at him with a kind smile, not even caring how the night wind tosses his hair around.

Sehun can’t help returning the smile, but his flight response kicks in, and he feels the need to get away by any means. “Bye, then,” he awkwardly draws out, stepping away with a show of his palm. All he can think about right now is that Jongin must be creeped out – maybe even disgusted – by his abnormal behavior. Skinship shouldn’t be weird to him, Sehun supposes, but that incredibly odd stare was too telling of his feelings.

“Hey, isn’t Monday your first day of work, too?” Jongin suddenly calls out to him.

“Yeah it is, why?”

“Well it’ll be exciting, then. You finally have something to do instead of just standing around with me.”

“Don’t say that,” Sehun says incredulously. “I’m never bored around you,” he continues, making Jongin’s face glow with joy. This time, he takes into account of how Jongin looks back at him with a certain fondness, and again the dark expertly disguises his blush.

“Thanks, Sehun,” he manages to say, and yet again they turn away from each other. This is to be the closure to their night, so when tomorrow knocks on his door, any memory of that moment was to be erased. At least, that is what Sehun hopes.

After he’s a few meters away from their divergence, he pauses in his tracks to exhale deeply. Sehun looks over his shoulder to see Jongin do the same thing, and when Jongin starts again into the horizon, Sehun decides to stop looking. He wonders what it would be like in an ideal world, where perhaps Jongin could be thinking the same thing as him. Bitterly, he curls his fingers and digs his nails into his palms, reprimanding himself for even having the nerve to have that thought. The only thing he’s able to do is move forward, so that’s what he opts for, descending deeper into the night.

Walking at night isn’t as fear-inducing as Sehun makes it out to be, but there’s a strange element to it on this specific day. It’s as if the darkness creates a new world around him, morphing his environment into something barely recognizable. Tonight he feels more disoriented than usual in the dim streetlights, and if he had to pick a reason why, it wouldn’t be hard to choose one.

Midway in his route, Sehun feels a sudden change in the cold air, as a wall of warmth collides first with his forehead, later spreading around his body and encompassing him. He thinks it’s just an abnormal change in temperature due to the warm winds, but then an olfactory cue makes him think otherwise. Continuing deeper into the darkness, Sehun keeps on sniffing until the smell registers as smoke, and soon he’s near the source.

Standing upon a street corner, Sehun peers down the avenue to see a beacon of vibrant light illuminating the area. The sound of crackling flows into the air, and it reaches small climaxes in unison with flashes of red and yellow. There’s no one screaming for help, which reduces Sehun’s worry, but he can make out a group of figures standing on the street and looking up at the maelstrom in profound silence.

The flash of sirens approaches the area, and within seconds there are columns of white shooting into the air at the chaos. Even with this arrival, however, the sounds barely change. The spectators are still mutely huddled in awe, so only the crackling and the spray of a hose permeates the air around them. There’s no feeling of imminent danger, but rather an aura of normality to all of it, as if the entire event is just a street busking performance that can be ignored at will.

Sehun clutches the fabric of his jacket and slightly pulls it away from his chest, watching the entire situation unfold. It’s a gesture of sympathy, although he realizes that it leans more towards empathy. There’s a certain familiarity of this, he recognizes, and as the flames continue to orchestrate the rest of their dance, he can picture himself over there with the silent victims. Sehun clasps his hands together and looks at the hearth, reciting a quick wish that everything for those people would be okay.

It takes self-motivation to pry his eyes away from the source of intense heat. The resemblance is for some reason, very strong. Sehun bites his lips and stays still, allowing for time to stop momentarily. Afterwards, he turns back onto his original path, and the returning cold signals that his connection is getting farther and farther away.

 


End file.
